tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102874262024-03-14T00:30:49.473-04:00Akihabara RenditionsWelcome to Akihabara Renditions, "Anime of the Bubble Economy". Akihabara Renditions is your source for Classic Anime released in the Region 1 area, Region 1 market analysis, and fanboy nostolgia all delivered in print and audio.<br>
This portion of Akihabara Renditions is dedicated for articles and thoughts of Drew Sutton.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-67821514550542984042008-06-01T14:46:00.005-04:002008-06-01T15:27:57.680-04:00A New Age For Perestroika<b>A New Age for Perestroika</b><br /> By Drew Sutton<br /> Published in <b><u>Akihabara Renditions</u></b><br /><br /> Last year I opened 2007 with a report I titled <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2007/01/first-state-of-classic-anime-in-north.html">“State of Classic Anime in North America”</a>, where I reviewed the news of 2006 and posted an outlook for the future. In retrospect for 2007, the licensing and release issues for classic anime that <b><u>Akihabara Renditions</u></b> focuses on were minuscule. The big news; however, was the discussion and growing discontent amongst industry professionals and the consistent decrease of sales and economic shrinkage in North America. Starting in the final months of 2007 with Justin Sevakis’s <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/2007-11-25">Open Letter to the Industry</a>, quickly echoed by <a href="http://www.animeondvd.com/news/news.php?news_view=13021">Chris Beveridge</a> from Anime on DVD and by AnimeNation’s <a href="http://www.animenation.net/blog/2007/11/27/ask-john-will-the-japanese-anime-industry-innovate-to-address-future-challenges/">John Oppliger</a>, and responded to by GONZO/GDH's <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/industry-comments/arthur-smith-open-letter-on-fansubbing">Arthur Smith</a> in Japan, the groundwork was laid for more fan speculation and press releases about disrupted release schedules, cutting back on staffing, and even ADV eliminating their NewTypeUSA publication in favor of a new magazine, PiQ. <br /><br /> In the past several months, the fan communities have been in uproar over re-hashed topics like 'can and does fan subbing hurt the industry', 'can there be responsible fan subbing', and circular questioning such as ‘how can the industry expect to compete with free?’. Indeed digital piracy is a problem within the anime community – to the licensors in North America, to producers in Japan, and even to the fans who do not want the industry to die. This “chicken little fandom” mentality, where everyone is convinced that the sky is falling, may not be as artificially manufactured by arm-chair CEOs as one might think. News since Sevakis's <i>Open Letter</i> hasn't been encouraging. Geneon USA has gone out of business. ADV has experienced financial woes after Sojitz has pulled some of their capital. Illegal video hosting and streaming site, CrunchyRoll, received four million US dollars of venture capital, causing FUNimation and Bandai Entertainment Inc. to balk about illegally hosting content and then be publicly embarrassed by GONZO/GDH when they announced that they were in talks with CrunchyRoll about hosting Tower of Daruga, which is now streaming. Speaking of Bandai Entertainment Inc., the most recent news is that their parent company, Bandai-Namco has decided to fold expensive niche-product subsidiary, Bandai Visual USA, into BEI causing some organizational restructuring. All may not be rosy, but its far from lost.<br /><br /> Sevakis’s article describes the industry he works in and it portrays them as being tied in the whole issue. They can’t undertake more digital distribution options because the Japanese licensors won’t allow them to, or, at least not for more money. GONZO's deal with Crunchy Roll coming to actual fruition is promising news, but it can hardly be considered becoming a new standard business model. What's needed is a concept that is a throw-back to the 1980s. A concept that shook the world equally hard as it was needed by those affected by it. The anime industries need a restructuring – <i>perestroika</i>.<br /><br /><a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/?action=view¤t=perestroika.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/perestroika.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> There are a host of issues that should be contentious between the legal teams of both the American and Japanese companies when negotiating licenses. American companies are struggling to get any return on investment with their DVDs being as high priced as they are. The Japanese are afraid of reverse importation and due to many production teams counting on approximately 30% of foreign investment (15% is North America alone), creates even higher licensing fees, which the American company has to pass onto its customers. Japan, you may own the rights to the series, but you need to realize that there is global demand for your product – you should compete globally for it. Making use of global distribution through the Internet will reach a wider audience and give fans a much better opportunity to preview series and see where they will vote seriously with their cash. It will also reduce the attractiveness of piracy through fan subbing. <br /><br /> So here is where restructuring begins – <i>Perestroika for the Anime Industry</i>. Japanese companies need to re-evaluate business models: traditional television and home video/DVD sales can still have a place, but ignoring or limiting Internet distribution simply isn’t an option. Likewise, American distributors should be pining for producing the official translations on these online video transfers. Of course, why limit it to just Americans – get French, Spanish, and any other language firms to finance their own versions, coupled with home video rights in their respective lingual territories. These deals can be worked out through an expedited licensing process which reduces the single-point-of-risk associated with licensing a single title after it has been “proven” in Japan. Instead of contract negotiations limiting how American companies release series in their territories, shouldn't the language be modified to allow the content to be release in any and all formats which will generate revenue for all parties involved?<br /><br /> The North American Industries are not without their own need for <i>perestroika</i>. First and foremost, North American distributors need to realize, because it seems many haven’t, that they are in competition with other mainstream media outlets and activities. Seeing anime as special is what makes many of us fans but it does not equate well into getting people to purchase product. Higher price points for what casual fans or the generally curious are more likely to scare people off. Pricing accordingly and making use of more and more rental and broadcast outlets are the keys to getting more sales. Secondly, not only are you in competition with other mass entertainment but you’re in competition with <b>each other</b>. Perhaps the seemingly equal pricing on most products are due to each company spending seemingly equal amount of production costs in bringing those products to market; but pricing outside of the MSRP of $25.99 or $29.99 USD is a lot less common than I would think for companies who compete. It is one thing to know “everyone” in your industry when it is so small but that doesn’t alleviate the fact that business is still business. Finally, intellectual property is arguably only worth as much as the defense put into it. Cease and Desist letters are a start but they shouldn’t be the end result of a legal solution. Without the ability to adapt, more resources should be put forward to defend copyright infringements.<br /><br /> The restructuring of anime industries to compete and cooperate globally is just the beginning. Release schedules for many titles between Japan and North America are getting better and better but the allure of “gotta have it now” presented by fan subbing is yet another factor hurting sales of distributors. Following the theme of <i>perestroika</i>, the anime industries need Gorbachev's second reform to maintain the ability to remain competitive: <i>uskoreniye</i> – acceleration. The business threats that fan subbing represent are free products, distributed without geographical boundaries and with a rapid time frame. Amateurs on different ends of the United States can now collaborate easily to create a fan sub product, with digital files downloaded from people in Japan, in a matter of a week. North American companies can be capable of releasing an identical product, if they were so permitted. Why can't a revenue-generated-by-advertisers, streaming video service be implemented for all titles in a company's library exist? Why not market DVDs to fans who really want DVDs and let individuals see content so they can be aware of whether or not it is worth actually putting money into the equation? The fact that these models aren't being pursued, as a fan who wants the Industry to survive, makes me beat my head against the wall. If I worked for an anime licensor in their negotiations, there wouldn't be a wall – I would have beaten a large hole through it and brain matter would hang, dried like raisins in the sun, from the edges. <br /><br /> If fan subbing is such a threat to the business, then why aren't companies reducing the attractiveness of it by replacing it with their own product? While restructuring is needed to pursue the venture, it also plays into the acceleration of the business. If amateurs can provide the product within a week, if not days or hours after it is available in Japan, then why aren't more North American companies trying to pursue the same avenues? Elimination of piracy is a noble venture and a right of property holders but trying to compete by treating it as an elephant in the room is equally idealistic. <b>And stupid</b>. Legal issues aside, there are market forces which drive piracy, usually from the supplier's price not meeting demand's price plus the want and desire for said product coupled with availability at demand's price point. North American companies, as well as Japanese licensors who are now feeling the pinch of illegal online distribution, should be crushing the competition by making it obsolete or unattractive. If amateurs can do it in their free time, why can't professionals?<br /><br /> Saying “the Japanese won't let us” shouldn't be an excuse anymore – hard negotiations are needed to gain competitive advantage in dim financial times. And that means that the Japanese will have to wake up and realize their business model doesn't work here. The liquidation of Bandai Visual USA is proof of what I said last year concerning their announcement for a business model – Japanese <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiretsu">Keiretsu</a> system business practices are designed to fail here. Bandai Visual USA seemed to have the <i>uskoreniye</i> principle going for them; they provided near simultaneous releases for new Bandai Visual products in North America as were released in Japan. The problem was that they tried to play protectionism with their home market, which hasn't evolved much since the boom of the 1980s when home video became big, and American fans refused to support such products. Acceleration is important to maintain competition (or to once again become competitive) but it does little if you're not going to meet your consumer demands, which for BVUSA, would have involved <i>perestroika</i> as well. <br /><br /> Finally, there comes the third and final reform that Gorbachev introduced to the USSR – <i>glasnost</i>. This openness that was highly lauded in the West was meant to provide not only more individual freedom to citizens of the Soviet republics but also a means in which the Soviet government could strengthen itself by improvement. <i>Glasnost</i> for the anime industries doesn't quite have the same methodology though a similar goal. Understandably, North American anime companies have certain secrets, as do all industries, that they cannot divulge to people who are not permitted access to such knowledge. However, if true restructuring is to take place for both the American and Japanese companies and how they do business together, then more openness is needed for why suppliers cannot meet consumer's demands. And from there, pressure can be applied to improve quality and availability of product to meet consumer demands. <br /><br /> But, the need for <i>perestroika</i>, <i>uskoreniye</i>, and <i>glasnost</i> aren't only the problems of Japanese and North American industries. Anime fandom is going to have to undergo some changes of its own. Firstly, anime fandom, if it is going to make demands, needs to support those products that meet those demands. Purchasing for the sake of purchasing sends mixed messages. There needs to be a shift in the fan sub community back to the original goals of fan subbing – getting fan support behind a title to get licensed or getting access to a title because it is the only means possible. Fansubbers should ask themselves every time they think about fan subbing something 'what are the chances of this getting licensed'? If its slim to none, then it might be worth it. If its really high, then why bother? If someone else is subbing a title, why should you too? <br /><br /> This article may be damning for Japanese and North American companies and might look like it is giving anime fans a pass at their responsibilities in the overall relationship. That might be a fair assertion, though it is not the way I see it. The reason that rampant fan subbing of even popular series exists is because companies are clinging to out-dated business models and trying to survive in the world of twenty-first century economics. <b>That</b> is what is damning. Globalization means having to meet global demands for products and the old way of doing business, especially when your consumer base is continually getting younger and younger, simply isn't acceptable anymore. As a fan and as a consumer, the writing is on the wall and plain as day to me. What is still a mystery to me is why it seems I am the only one, or others like me are, able to read it. If a company, Japanese or American, is going to turn a blind eye to the issue and expect business as usual (or to not meet market demands), then they should not expect to succeed. The opposite is true – even if it means that business is not as usual, companies should be working to provide customers what they want, need and desire through competition and market norms of those from which they are trying to solicit business - <b>and they will succeed</b>. A healthy and profitable industry cannot exist right now with American companies playing to the interests of Japanese protectionism, business models reliant on old technology and whining about (and like) spoiled brats. Instead, the companies should be acting in the interests of generating the most revenue (turning as much into profit as possible) as they can and exploiting technology to their own competitive advantage.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-56304777981151639892007-05-07T21:06:00.002-04:002008-05-31T13:12:55.820-04:00Laziness Abounds?It's odd that one can feel so much stress meeting one's obligations, get them all complete, and still feel behind. That's the convoluted way of saying "I've been busy not updating here." But there's good news coming from all over the place now.<br /><br />The con season is a tricky thing for Classic Japanese animation - you can have two cons within two weeks of each other on opposite ends of the North American continent and get nothing newsworthy, yet, practically smack dab in the middle, we get a license announcement for <b>3</b> "new" titles! From a "new" company, too!<br /><br />Sakura Con was held in Washington State early in April. Nothing for classics fans. Anime Boston, towards the end of the month, and also nothing. However, brightening my dreary Monday on the 16th, ImaginAsian announced they have reached a deal with TMS and would be broadcasting and releasing on DVD three classic anime titles:<br /><br /><b><i>Ie Naki Ko</i></b> 『家無き子』 under the title <i>Nobody's Boy Remi</i><br /><b><i>Cat's Eye</i></b> Season 1 『キャッツアイ』<br /><b><i>Superdimension Century Orguss</i></b> TV Series 『超時空世紀オーガス』<br /><br />From <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-04-16/broadcast-and-dvd-release-of-orguss-nobody's-boy-remi-and-cat's-eye-coming-from-imaginasian">ANN's press release</a>, they will be broadcast in Japanese with subtitles and the DVD releases will also be with Japanese dialoge and English subtitles. <i>Orguss</i> is a little special, the first 17 episodes will be dubbed because there was already an existing dub available. According to Justin Sevakis (who writes ANN's excellent <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/buried-treasure">Buried Treasure</a> column), who is also working on these releases from what I gather, the second season of <i>Cat's Eye</i> also has a good chance of being released if these are successful. Broadcasts will begin in early June and the DVD releases will begin in late June and early July. These DVDs have me excited not just because it's more classics coming out here, but the price point is extremely cheap. <br /><br />The DVD releases will feature 4-7 episodes per disc from the Region 2 Japanese DVDs (so, our quality will be high, but not as high as in Japan) with the first disc plus box retailing at $12.99 USD. Subsequent discs will be priced at $9.99 retail. Or, wait for the boxes which will be around $80 USD. Coming from Bandai Viual USA's pricing scheme I spoke about last post, this is a big jump. Once more, on the production side of the business, the discs will be made to order. This is a cool thing because it eliminates production expenses for making units that are sold to retailers but never make it into the hands of buyers.<br /><br />However, there are some drawbacks to mention. The discs will only be sold via ImaginAsian's online store, which means we might only see shipping to the US and Canada. Secondly, is packaging. For people who like decorated singles cases (strong opinion to follow), buying into these might be a bit of a sacrifice because it looks like only the box may have art on it. Disc 2 and up will come in Tyvex sleeves to fit into the box with the first disc. Third, and perhaps what the worst may be if this fails, is the mention of "limited time". Classics fans wanting good, cheap classics should probably jump onto this as soon as they're released.<br /><br />Now, strong opinion time. I'm not big on packaging outside of "physically ruining DVDs". For the art work, I'd rather get desktop wallpapers or posters. Since the shrinking of media and its packaging, and this may be rose-tinted or what not, I think LaserDiscs had the best packaging in terms of art. Mostly because taking up the cover itself is practically a 144 sqaure-inch picture with plenty of room for a good manfacturing transfer. DVD and VHS cases just don't measure up. I understand that 99.99% of all packaging is for marketing purposes, but if I can save a few bucks by forgoing it on my DVDs to devote to other media (the aforementioned posters and such), then my DVDs can be bland. <br /><br />I'm most excited about <i>Orguss</i> because I'm a fan of those 1980s, sci-fi, Real Robot type of series that were popular then. It's also easier to find more material for research about <i>Orguss</i> for a couple of reasons: it's been released in the US before and it was considered the sequel to <b><i>Superdimension Fortress Macross</i></b> ages ago. Even though <i>Cat's Eye</i> was wildly popular in the early and mid 1980s when it aired in Japan, it's not seen a whole lot of exposure elsewhere to my knowledge (I'm only vaguely familar with it myself). <i>Cat's Eye</i> is the story of three sisters who are cafe proprietors by day, art theives by night with a detective hot on their trails who is also the fiancee of one of the sisters. Sounds like some action, intrigue, and romance, which I think can be hard to go wrong. <i>Ie Naki Ko</i> is well-known in Latin America as <i>Remi</i>, based upon a French novel <u>Sans Famille</u>. It seems to be an emotional piece about love and family. Needless to say, I'll be trying to check out these series as much as possible, but I am immediately most excited about <i>Orguss</i>.<br /><br />In other news, I'm working on getting the main domain up by the end of this month. I've requested some friends who are better at the whole image editing and web design thing to use their skills and most of that work is mostly done. I probably won't be updating much here in that case as I'll be busy with migration and adding more content. I hope that those of you reading <b><u>Akihabara Renditions</u></b> will follow when we make the big jump from little blog to little full-out website. Thanks for reading!Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-86366288171740591152007-03-31T16:23:00.003-04:002008-05-31T14:29:59.937-04:00Diversification and BandwagoningIt seems that after my last post, followed by a busy week, was met again with busy weeks following it. The news; however, has been fairly sparse but deep in detail regardless.<br /><br />As I mentioned last, I ordered my copy of <b><i>Top 'o nerae! GunBuster</i></b> 『トップをねらえ!GunBuster』 produced by Bandai Visual USA from Right Stuff. I did that on either the 3rd-5th of March. Orders for <i>GunBuster</i> must have went well, it took nearly three weeks for my copy to ship, which is the slowest I've had from them. I'm not complaining, I got the box set and had to force myself <b>not</b> to watch it as I had other work that needed attention. I did end up watching it the next day and it was glorious.<br /><br />The story actually splits in two parts from here. The first part is about Bandai Visual in the news recently concerning many of their releases, which from my last post garnered much praise. In fact, they're going out on a limb in the current North American market with classic, and even more niche, titles like <i>GunBuster</i>, <i><b>Mobile Police Patlabor</b></i> 『機動警察パトレバー』, and soon <i><b>Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise</b></i> 『王立宇宙軍オネアミセの翼』should be commended and supported. Thy're even releasing more modern titles to rope in contemporary fandom such as <b><i>Top 'o nerae! 2 DieBuster</i></b> 『トップをねらえ!2 DieBuster』, <b><i>Wings of Rean</i></b> 『リーンの翼』, and a simultaneous Japanese and American release for the OAV <b><i>Freedom</i></b>. So, a robust and diverse catalog - where can the problems be? Dubbing and Pricing.<br /><br />I'm personally not much of a dub fan. If I've heard the dub, I think I can accurately evaluate them and usually comparing directly to the original is the last step I take. When it comes to the Dub-Sub Debate (which is much more a business decision now than a fandom issue), I look at it this way: I like cheeseburgers. When I go with friends, many times I end up getting and enjoying a nice cheeseburger. Sure, on occasion I feel like a pasta dish (and by no means is my pallette limited), but nine times out of ten, I'll prefer something like a cheeseburger. Subs are my cheeseburger. It's what I look for first, it's satisfying to me, and nine times out of ten, what I prefer. However, dubs are still viable for getting a large number of people to buy an anime DVD; Sub-Only just hasn't sold well and is usually reserved for titles which may not find much of an audience. Bandai Visual USA has decided that Sub-Only wasn't just the case for a couple of releases - it's now <a href="http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showpost.php?post/399457">standard operating procedure</a> [animeondvd.com].<br /><br />What can they do after alienating a good portion of the market? Let's reach pricing similar to Japan! I was forgiving for <i>GunBuster</i> being two episodes a disc and retailing at $60.00 for the box. I wanted quality (and I got it, but more to come on that later) and it was about the top of my price ran about this level, given the extra booklet, which I'm still not through reading. I also felt that this was a very niche release that only a really small segment was going to jump on (I might have been wrong). However, looking at this release for <a href="http://www.bandaivisual.us/pdfs/PressRelease_FR_0320.pdf"><i>Freedom</i></a> and other news circling about, other titles like <i>DieBuster</i> and <i>Rean</i> will <b>not</b> be boxed and individual MSRP is near $40.00 per disc. Sure, we'll probably see about a third or fourth of it knocked off from e-tailers, but will American fans pay near $30.00 per disc not meeting our version of standards? I hear complaints all too often that "anime is expensive", which isn't entirely false; hobbies by definition are supposed to be money pits. But in return, we're used to dual audio tracks, special extras, and episode counts between two and four times (pending on the series) the size per disc than the Japanese counterparts for MSRP of $30. What's more outrageous is that on <a href="http://animeworldorder.blogspot.com/2007/03/anime-world-order-show-51-timeliness-is.html">this podcast</a> from Anime World Order, they discuss <i>Royal Space Force</i> hitting MSRP at <b>$80.00</b> with no idea what will constitute extras.<br /><br />So now it seems like I'm going to jump on the bandwagon of bashing Bandai Visual (and BVUSA). Bandwagoning this isn't. I support the Industry, especially when they do a good job. But when they do dumb shit like this, then it's time to chastise them. Bandai Visual may get away with highway robbery prices in Japan, thanks to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiretsu">Keiretsu System</a> [wikipedia.org], but this won't fly with American consumers at all. If BVUSA wants to stay in business, then either bring your product within what we consider standards and at market price or retain your release structure and drop your prices accordingly. If you're going to offer us what we percieve as half a product, drop your prices to what half of our standards are. As I see it, BVUSA's charging prices to help the protectionism of the Japanese DVD industry. We've heard this argument in the past with Bandai Entertainment and its English-Only <b><i>Mobile Suit Gundam</i></b> 『機動戦士ガンダム』 TV DVDs. Producers in Japan want to be guarded from having to compete with American products that have a better price-point. Welcome to the global economy, Bandai Visual and I guess Japan as a whole. <br /><br />And, speaking of odd ways of doing business, confirmation of <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-03-30/manganews.net-confirms-libre/cpm-dispute">a legal dispute between Libre Publishing in Japan and Central Park Media's <i>Be Beautiful</i> line</a> has been confirmed by ANN via MangaNews. As much as we know from the story is that CPM bought a bunch of licenses from a company named Biblos, which publishes yaoi manga in Japan. Biblos went out of business and was selling its properties as a part of bankruptcy, which Libre bought and re-negotiated author-publisher contracts to many titles, a lot of which CPM licensed in the US. Libre <a href="http://www.b-boy.jp/info17.html">posted</a> this warning on the Internet, pleading with fans in Japanese and English to boycott CPM for distributing "illegal" and "unauthorized" translations. CPM is keeping quiet about this, which may be the best thing. However, without seeing the documentation and contracts that CPM had signed with Biblos and what the terms of sale were when Biblos sold titles to Libre, anything from here is speculation and the truth can lie in several directions. Hopefully, they, or even an arbirator can, be brought in and between the two parties sort it all out themselves, rather than have to crawl through American or Japanese court systems with legal counsel.<br /><br />As I said above, I what started out as news about <i>GunBuster</i> and it's DVD release. I plan on putting out a reveiw of it, but I want it to be more comprehensive than just a review of the DVD. I also mentioned in the previous post that there was some fanboy whining about some music being changed in <i>GunBuster</i> and that I was planning on getting an unaltered copy somehow. I actually found original prints of the OAV on LaserDisc on eBay fairly cheap. I bought them and they were shipped yesterday, so I should have them soon.<br /><br />Back a couple of years ago, I was struggling with my fandom. I've probably mentioned this before and that's when I became an advocate of classic Japanese animation. One of the articles that helped me along was this editorial: <a href="http://j-fan.com/edit.cgi?selected=anime_ld">Buying Anime on Laserdisc</a> [j-fan.com]. When finding far too much crap coming out on R1 DVD and in fansub circles, finding a much more affordible outlet to get unaltered copies cheaply from Japan or just get old anime that will never see the light of day here in North America, sparked a new surge in fandom. Thankfully, the used-LD market in Japan was much, much larger, especially in anime circuits than it was in the US, probably all of North America. For the past couple of years, I'd browsed online auctions looking for LD players and discs, just to see what kind of trouble I would be getting myself into. I finally through Craig's List someone wanting to sell a player and a bunch of discs. A couple e-mails, and hour drive, and thirty minutes of breakdown and selecting LDs, I was driving home with a nice, used LD player. <br /><br />Here's the machine set up for testing:<br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/DSC00600.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/DSC00601.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><br /><br />From the top, with the Ranma 1/2 SUPER OAV I was testing with. It's an LD I bought nearly immediately after reading the J-Fan editorial. <br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/DSC00603.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><br /><br />And the title screen, thankfully proving my LD works!<br /><br />And for you kids who've never seen an LD - <br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/DSC00602.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a><br /><br />So, I expect over the next few years and hopefully as long as I can remain an anime fan, my collection will be growing in a diversified fashion now including vintage, classic LaserDiscs as well.<br /><br />But there is one more way I wanted to diversify myself. I've been going to Anime Weekend Atlanta for quite some time, but outside of comic book conventions when I was younger and an odd convention I do contract work for, I've not been to another, strictly anime, convention. Since I was out adventuring for my LD player on 17 March and I would be driving past the Georgia Institute of Technology <i>anyway</i>, I decided to stop by <a href="http://www.onegaistudios.com/momo/">Momo Con</a>. Being run at a Univeristy, I expected a much smaller, fan run feel to the convention. Smaller it was, and there were fans, I'm sure, but "run" is a very subjective term in this case. It seems like a con that was decentralized and just happened. Upon entry, which was free, everyone received a goody bag, which didn't contain a program (though I see now there are maps on the website). Nor were there maps posted indicating where events were. In fact, I found gaming rooms (to my chagrin), a dealer's room (which wasn't great in either selection or pricing), and lunch (because I was starving). Oh, and I was constantly surrounded by cosplayers. To me, not being able to find, well, <b>anime related events</b> at an <b>anime con</b> and constantly surrounded by cosplayers, I felt like this was more a cosplayer's convention in the vein of Akibiyori. I planned on staying for a couple of hours but I could barely manage an hour and a half.<br /><br />The <b>one</b> good thing about Momo Con was running into an old college friend there and I spoke with him and his girlfriend about hitting up MTAC this (well, April) month. I'll need to call him again soon and see if they're still up for it and I need plan vacation. <br /><br />On a final note, I hope to be able to do my encompassing <i>GunBuster</i> review next weekend some time. In the meantime, I'm still working on getting the full <b><u>Akihabara Renditions</u></b> website up and running, but it looks like it may not be until May. It kind of sucks because I need to get AWA press information submitted. Well, that's it for this edition of <u>AkibaRen</u>. I'll be back as soon as there is more news to report and comment on!Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-81244845253019362252007-03-11T20:04:00.001-04:002008-05-31T12:31:51.421-04:00Running Behind, As Always, It Seems...Just as I was behind getting the First <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2007/01/first-state-of-classic-anime-in-north.html">State of Classic Anime in North America</a> uploaded (well, composed, then uploaded), I've since fallen behind on updating this regularly with the news of the day. Licenses for more contemporary Japanese animation series have been announced and while the news for classics has been respectfully light, there have been some big developments none the less.<br /><br />Just two days after I predicted a release for <b><i>Ouritsu Uchuugun Oneamise no Tsubasa</i></b>『王立宇宙軍オネアミセの翼』 (Wings of Honneamise), on 30 January, at Anime LA, Bandai Visual USA announced they <u>do</u> have plans to release the 1987 film that put GAINAX on the map in Japan and helped bring about modern anime fandom in North America. The <a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-01-30/anime-la-bandai-visual-report">Anime LA report</a> at <u>Anime News Network</u> also confirms "compilation films" for both 1988's <b><i>Top 'o nerae! Gunbuster</i></b> 『トップをねらえ!ガンブスター』 and it's 2004 sequel <b><i>Top 'o nerae! 2 DIEBUSTER</i></b> 『トップをねらえ!ダイブスター』. When describing the release, it seems to describe <i>Diebuster</i> as a similar release to <i>Gunbuster</i> of three DVD at two episodes each. Nothing more has been said of the release, so perhaps as the convention season picks up later in the year we will have mroe details. Weeks before the <i>Gunbuster</i> release here in North America, the report also brought what some fans may see as ill news as well. During one of the training sequences, music had to be altered for undisclosed circumstances (to be exact, best speculation has to do with copyrights). The music was replaced with another track from the soundtrack but immediately fanboy legions were cancelling their orders. All I really have to say about it is that my copy of <i>Gunbuster</i> is in the mail (birthday present) and I'll review it as soon as I can; however, I will be keeping an eye out for an old LD set, the R2 JP DVD, or the R2 UK DVD for a comparison. The report also re-affirms the BVUSA's license of the 2006 ONA <b><i>Rean no Tsubasa</i></b> 『リーンの翼』 based upon the manga of the same name by Tomino Yoshiyuki and a part of the Byston Well stories from <b><i>Sei Senshi Dunbine</i></b> 『望戦士ダンバイン』 (Aura Battler Dunbine).<br /><br />And like Laws of Physics, what goes up must come down. We gain <i>Honneamise</i> and we lose a very classic, Matsumoto Leiji work: <b><i>Waga Seishun no Arcadia</i></b> 『わが青春のアルカディア』 (My Youth in Arcadia/Arcadia of My Youth). As reported from <a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-02-17/arcadia-of-my-youth-goes-out-of-print-this-summer">Anime News Network</a> again, AnimEigo has said that <i>Arcadia</i> is going out of print and will be as such when they run out of current stock. Like with <i><b>Kimagure Orange Road</b></i>, if you shop around, you'll still be able to pick up a copy and for dirt cheap. But, I advise you move quickly; I can't imagine the print run being incredibly large even for this awesome a film. I spoke a little about <i>Arcadia</i> <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2005/08/now-featuring-updates.html">back in August of 2005</a>. <br /><br />On a final note for the news for now, just as in <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2006/02/times-they-are-changin.html">February of 2006</a> I stated that Japan seems to be returning to older franchises in a production lull that I think has plagued the Japanese industry in the past few years. 2007 seems to be no different and these reproductions seem to be out in full force. Starting within the first quarter or so of this year, the following classic franchises will have new animations released for them (all research courtesey of <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com">Anime News Network</a>):<br /><b><i><a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-02-05/tetsujin-28-trailer">Testujin 28go</a></i></b> 『鉄人28号』<br /><b><i><a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-02-11/jeeg-tv-anime-in-april">Koutetsu Jeeg</a></i></b> 『鋼鉄ジーグ』<br /><b><i><A href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-02-16/gegege-no-kitaro-returns-for-fifth-season">Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro</a></i></b> 『ゲゲゲの鬼太郎』<br /><b><i><a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-01-23/gr-giant-robo-episode-1-online">Giant Robo</a></i></b> 『ジャイアントロボ』<br /><b><i><a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=7306">Juusou Kikou Dancougar Nova</a></b></i> 『獣装機攻 ダンクーガ ノヴァ』<br />And coming later we can expect the following:<br /><b><i><a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2006-08-19/new-votoms-series">Soukou Kihei Votoms</a></i></b> 『装甲騎兵ボトムズ』<br /><b><i><a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-03-09/follow-up-victor-voice-actress-auditions-for-macross">Unspecified Macross</a></i></b> 『マクロス』<br /><b><i><a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-02-03/live-action-gatchaman-set-for-2008">Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman</a></i></b> 『科学忍者隊ガッチャマン』<br /><br />It looks like there is a lot to look forward to already. Some series I am already hesitant about how good they might be, especially this <i>Macross</i> in the works and I think that only comes from a history of mixed-review additions to the franchise. <i>Votoms</i> is a little harder for me to comment on because I am not really familiar in deep detail with it (yet). A CGI <i>Gatchaman</i> will be hard to predict because it seems to be a joint venture and I wonder with Japanese gaining more control in contemporary international versions if Tatsunoko will allow one of their flagship franchises to be treated in the same manner as it was with <i>Battle of the Planets</i> or <i>G-Force</i>. With series as old and beloved as <i>Kitaro</i>, <i>Tetsujin</i>, <i>GR</i>, and <i>Jeeg</i>, they are fairly simplistic series with fanbases already devoted to the originals, so they will mostly be icing on the cake and not draw a lot of backlash from many hardcore fans in North America. <br /><br />No matter though as <b><u>Akihabara Renditions</u></b> will continue to monitor the North American and Japanese Industries and bring all of the reports of classic Japanese animation!<span style="font-style:italic;"></span>Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-48804643941965765682007-01-28T15:30:00.002-05:002008-06-01T15:29:13.157-04:00The First State of Classic Anime in North America Report<b><i>State of Classical Anime in North America (SCANA), 2006</i></b><br /><i>~A Record of Events in the Region One Market for 2006~</i><br />by Drew Sutton, published in <b><u>Akihabara Renditions</u></b> on 28 January 2007<br /><br />Japanese Animation fandom has existed in North America going back to the very late 1970s and has continued to grow, first in waves, but now due to proliferation of the Internet, nearly exponentially. Likewise, Japan is now producing more animation than ever before. However, many fans looking at the newest and hottest titles coming out of Japan and across the wire this very second are finding many of these series not in line with why they fell in love with Japanese animation in the first place. <u>Akihabara Renditions</u>, like they, still remember and support classics. This report exists as the first in an annual report that will look in the year past in terms of the health of the industry, the exposure of classic anime, other notable news events, and what classic anime may hope for in the future.<br /><br />In 2006, the Anime Licensing Industry in North America, henceforth known as the Industry, appeared to still experiencing growing pains resulting from the bottoming out of 2005. These contractions are normal for an economy and in an industry where profit margins are slim by definition, they are expected to have major impacts. However, while in years past the normal licensing season has ended around the beginning of the fourth annual quarter, many licenses were announced up until the end of the year. Combined with the entrance of a new business entity, <a href="http://www.bandaivisual.us/">Bandai Visual USA</a> (a US branch of the Japanese firm), it appears that the Industry may be headed for a rebound sooner than expected. Likewise, with this new player in the market and a rebound of capital, the licensing trends in North America will be favorable to both fans of modern and classic Japanese animation properties. <br /><br />Even though the Industry has not met the real number total of the licensing booms between 2002 and 2004, I am sure that time will come. What classic anime fans have to look back on in 2006 and look forward to in 2007 is a large percentage of classic Japanese animation titles expected to be brought here. The first classic license came early in the year, though it felt like an eternity compared to what seemed like the lack of market representation in years past. February brought <a href="http://www.media-blasters.com/">Media Blasters/Anime Works</a> into the eyes of classic fans by licensing the early nineties sequel <b><i>Uchuu no Kishi Tekkaman Blade</i></b> 『宇宙の騎士テッカマンブレード』, coupled with a separate English version, cut and edited as <b><i>Teknoman</i></b>. Many fans in North America may remember <i>Teknoman</i> from its Saturday morning syndication but MB/AW has recognized to maximize sales, it should cater to both audiences, thus separate printings, as opposed to putting both versions on the same printing. Modern classic <b><i>Crayon Shin-chan</i></b> 『クレヨンしんちゃん』 was announced out of the blue by <a href="http://www.funimation.com/">FUNimation</a>. Initially met with criticism, both of the series itself and its licensor, much of that criticism has fallen by the wayside with a successful special two-week promo airing on Adult Swim. Also in February, CPM released the <b><i>Soukou Kihei Votoms</i></b> 『装甲騎兵ボトムズ』 (Amored Trooper Votoms) television series across four box sets. These releases have been widely acclaimed.<br /><br />Later in April Media Blasters/Anime Works came back with another stunning announcement. Like it did with <i>Tekkaman Blade</i> and <i>Teknoman</i>, MB/AW was releasing the 1980s classic <b><i>Voltron: Defender of the Universe</i></b> in its entirety and releasing its Japanese component series <b><i>Hyaku Juuou Golion</b></i> 『百獣王ゴライオン』 and <b><i>Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV</i></b> 『機甲艦隊ダイラガーXV』 all separately. With releases for <i>Teknoman</i> and <i>Voltron</i>, MB/AW is capitalizing on the fad of re-packaging nostalgia that has brought us DVD sets for shows like <i>The Transformers</i> and <i>Thundercats</i> but also recognizing that a number of fans are also anime fans and are banking on them wanting to see the original Japanese versions of their childhood favorites. Together with this announcement, MB/AW also announced licensing and releasing <b><i>Yuushaou Gaogaigar</i></b> 『勇者王ガオガイガー』, which while not a classic in the technical sense, it has gained a large fanbase amongst fans of classic Super Robot Mecha, so I feel that it is warranted a mention. <br /><br />As the summer convention season picked up and multiple licenses were being announced on a weekly basis, we hoped not to be over looked. And we were right. Summer at Anime Expo in Long Beach, California we saw Bandai Visual USA (not related to <a href="http://www.bandai-ent.com/">Bandai Entertainment</a>) emerge to compete in the North American market and they opened their catalog with four licenses, three of which are classics! The two <b><i>Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor</b></i> 『機動警察パトレーバー』 films in addition to GAINAX's 1988 classic OAV, <b><i>Top 'o nerae Gunbuster</i></b> 『トップをねらえ!ガンバスター』 were announced, only months after <a href="http://www.manga.com/">Manga Video</a> announcing that they could not renew the licenses. While many fans were simply glad to have the titles available on DVD, <i>Gunbuster</i> has for ages been the red-headed step-child of their catalog. Manga acquired the title from US Renditions when they went under, produced their own VHS set of it and then shelved it when they moved their library to DVD. Bandai Visual, responding to fan demand for a DVD set is not only printing them but are celebrating the long wait with an extra deluxe box set packed with extras. <br /><br />With titles like <i>Votoms</i> and <i>Gunbuster</i> considered the long-shots of finally receiving DVD releases and <i>Golion</i> and <i>Dairugger</i> being considered a long-shot for licensing period, what more could fans of classics ask for? What else was in store for the next five months for the end of the fiscal year? Only a month went by and we got our answer. Amidst announcements of other companies losing publishing rights to their titles, <a href="http://www.animeigo.com">AnimEigo</a> had their own share of difficulties, even switching to primarily to publishing Japanese samurai jidaigeki, war, and art-house films because of the increased cost of doing business with animation met with lower returns. However, AnimEigo completely out of left field announced their first licensing acquisition in five years: <b><i>Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl</b></i>. AnimEigo immediately pledged a “fashionable box set release” packed with stuff, the series given AnimEigo's otaku-driven translation treatment, releasing boxes first, and reverse pricing on the boxes. Reverse pricing is where the price for the box will drop until ship-date for a number of pre-orders that the company receives. Other series such as <b><i>Kimagure Orange Road</i></b> 『きまぐれオレンジロード』 and <b><i>Choujikuu Yousai Macross</i></b> 『超時空要塞マクロス』 (Superdimension Fortress Macross) received similar treatments upon their initial releases. <br /><br />2006 has truly been a great year for the fans of classic Japanese animation.<br /><br />However, despite a great licensing and release season for classics fans, an unprecedented number of relinquished licenses have been announced this year as well. Immediately to start the year off, which did not bode well for the rest of the year, Manga Video announced a number of titles from their library as relinquished. It was a big hit to their library as well, too with many series being regarded highly and popular, such as <b><i>Hokuto no Ken</i></b> 『北斗の拳』, GAINAX's <b><i>Ouritsu Uchuugun Oneamise no Tsubasa</i></b> 『王立宇宙軍オネアミセの翼』 (The Wings of Honeamise), and <i>Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor</i> films but it included even more niche titles that hadn't seen much of a DVD release: <i>Top 'o nerae Gunbuster</i> and the <b><i>Kyoushoku Soukou Guyver</i></b> 『強殖装甲ガイバー 』 (Bio-booster Armor Guyver) OAV. With the <i>Gunbuster</i> and <i>Patlabor</i> licenses picked up by another company, perhaps notable classics such as <i>Hokuto no Ken</i> and <i>Oneamise</i> will be picked up in the near future for release by other companies as well. Manga Video also later announced more relinquished licenses at Anime Expo. Unlike the announcements earlier in the year, these were smaller OAVs which have historically not been block-buster hits. <b><i>Angel Cop</i></b> 『エンジェルコップ』, <b><i>Devilman</i></b> 『デビルマン』 OAV, and <b><i>Choujikuu Seiki Orguss 02</i></b> 『超時空要塞世紀オーガス02』 OAV (sequel to the 1983 TV series) fell victim this time around. Manga was not the only company to experience catalog cut-backs. AnimEigo announced in June that it could not meet the renewal fees for <i>Kimagure Orange Road</i> TV and that by August the TV series would no longer be printed. By the time this came around, AnimEigo announced three more relinquishments: <i>Kimagure Orange Road</i> OAVs and the first film (the second being a property of <a href="http://www.advfilms.com/">ADV</a> and still in print), and the hard Sci-Fi classic <b><i>Crusher Joe</i></b> 『クラシャージョー』 film and OAVs. <br /><br />2006 was also regrettably marked by the passing of two contributors who helped make and shape classic Japanese animation what it is with the projects they worked on. The first is Japanese voice actor Suzuoki Hirotaka who voiced many notable greats in classic anime. His voice is what personified the determined but inexperienced captain of the White Base during the One Year War in <b><i>Mobile Suit Gundam</i></b> 『機動戦士ガンダム』 and went on to reprise the role of Bright Noah in every <i>Gundam</i> sequel and remake that was required of him up until the <b><i>Mobile Suit Z Gundam – A New Translation</i></b> 『機動戦士Zガンダム - A New Translation』 movie trilogy completed in March of 2006. He was more than just our captain, he was the batty, rich upperclass man Kuno Tatewaki in Takahashi Rumiko's 1989 classic <b><i>Ranma ½</i></b> 『らんま1/2』. These are merely a couple of roles of which he graced, but perhaps the most notable he will be remembered for amongst classic fans. Later in the year we were informed that in November a true pioneer had left us behind. Ishikawa Ken, whom worked with Nagai Go to make Mecha a genre that would endure through the development of Japanese animation. While Nagai is credited with being the father of mecha as its own genre by putting the robot controllers inside the actual robots and making use of them as tools and vehicles, as opposed to Tezuka Osamu's androids and Yokoyama Mitsuteru's remote controlled machines, Ishikawa's work with Nagai on <b><i>Getter Robo</i></b> 『ゲッターロボ』 continued the piloting aspect but also introduced the team element, the transformation element, and led to many other robot shows to become a merchandising blitz in the 1970s. Without that blitz of fantastic super robots, we wouldn't have the <i>Gundams</i>, <i>Macrosses</i>, and <i>Evangelions</i> that we have today. Both Suzuoki and Ishikawa will be missed by their respective fandoms and we should acknowledge their contributions to Japanese animation.<br /><br />Finally, we've seeing where we've been, said our good-byes for 2006 and seen a glimpse of the future for 2007. What more can we expect? We've seen that the Industry is still contracting but it remains strong. Relinquished licenses means new doors have opened that were previously closed and not to mention other titles held in licensing purgatory – licensed by a distributor yet unreleased for one reason or another – should be focuses of the classic fandom when interacting with the Industry. While there are plenty of series that remain unlicensed in North America, perhaps negotiating a 2007 release for something already licensed may be a shorter road that fans should pursue. Amongst inter-fan conversation and advertising, <u>AkibaRen</u> will continue to promote and make aware classic anime. If you would have asked me the status of classic Japanese animation in 2005, one word come to mind would have been 'neglected'. Now, after the close of 2006, 'neglected' is not featured but instead 'strong' has replaced it. Responding to market constrictions and a fickle sales demographic, many in the Industry are looking towards the fans of classics. In 2007, I hope to see a stronger push towards the classics as well as a healthy sales representation amongst classic titles compared to their modern counterparts as the 2006 licenses are released and in turn we'll see more licenses that classic fans can look forward to in the coming years.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-29577903757536151692007-01-27T00:06:00.001-05:002008-05-31T12:32:23.448-04:00Continuing the motto of “For Beautiful Convention Life”<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/AWA%2012/DSC00568.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />Anime Weekend Atlanta celebrated twelve years of “Beautiful Convention Life”. I must say that AWA lives up to this motto very well. AWA continues to grow, being one of the ten largest conventions in the US and largest anime convention in the Southeastern United States. 2006 was the first year that <b><u>Akihabara Renditions</u></b> attended as official press but this was my ninth straight year in attendance of this convention as a guest in some form or fashion. After being involved for so many years, one would expect to find the event very stale or that I would be showing up simply to catch up with old friends and club members from my High School Anime Club. That is certainly not the case! While I see many of the same staff year after year, ideas from both old and new members must be floated along with some degree of equality because with the diversity of programming, events, and panels, like a fine wine, gets better with age. <br /><br />Sure, there are standard events that I attend every year – primarily Japanese Animation Hell (don't let the name fool you – it really has little to do with any actual anime – check out AnimeHell.org for a quick sample) and Totally Lame Anime (which does have a lot to do with anime) and other guests can fine numerous panels devoted to the voice acting and directing crews who are guests of the convention. Other topics discussed revolved around Gothic Lolita fashion, general Cosplay (from sewing to props), getting into the Industry, making your own mark in the online community, fan-fiction writing. Pretty much, if you can think about it and have a question, there's probably a panel on it. If you can think about it and think you're an expert, as I purvey the schedule here on my desk, there is plenty of time left open so you could probably start your own panel. <br /><br />But what amazes me are the new panels that pop up every year. This year featured a panel I would have never expected and will certainly never forget: Anime 1940 – 1980. The beauty of this panel wasn't just the fact that it was a large panel devoted to the definition of “Classic” but with the content displayed, one could see the evolution of Japanese animation from the grips of wartime propaganda up to the juggernaut of the Bubble Economy. One of the most unforgettable clips I saw during the entirety of 2006 come from 1944's <b>Momotarou – Umi no Shimpei</b> 『桃太郎 海の神兵』. This film was made near the end of 1944 and released later in 1945 as the Pacific War was winding down. As such, it is pure propaganda and looking at it over sixty years later the story and action is completely absurd to us now. In the film, which I believe is a sequel to an earlier propaganda piece, Momoarou joins the Imperial Japanese Navy and then trains local forest animals of the territories that Imperial Japan “liberates” to expel the Gaijin and propel the rest of Asia towards prosperity under the guide of Big Brother Japan. I've said before that the modern anime <b>Zipang</b> 『ジパング』 should be commended for looking at the Pacific War with a “Nationalist” viewpoint compared to anti-war classics like <b>Hotaru no Haka</b> (Grave of the Fireflies) 『火垂るの墓』 or <b>Barefoot Gen</b> 『はだしのゲン』 – but seeing an actual piece of Japanese War Machine Propaganda puts things into a different perspective; <i>Zipang</i> appears much more neutral. Moving forward from the end of the war and quickly through the theatrical animation of the Occupation and into the development of television anime in the 1960s, we see the birth of definitive genres of Mahou Shoujo and Super Robot Mecha. Older fans or fans of older anime can appreciate this panel to get a glimpse at some of their favorites; newer fans or fans of new anime might also enjoy the panel for a bit of a history and development lesson. <br /><br />Though, speaking of classics – AWA has plenty of dedicated video rooms and while half of them have mixed schedules, AWA also features a video room dedicated to all sorts of Classic Japanese Animation. From <b>Heidi, Girl of the Alps</b> 『アルプスの少女ハイジ』 to <b>Ginga Hyouryuu Vifam</b> 『銀河漂流バイファム』 and <b>Uchuu Senkan Yamato</b> 『宇宙戦艦ヤマト』 to <b>Cat's Eye</b> 『キャッツ アイ』, numerous other classics spanning numerous genres were played throughout the convention. With many classics fans lamenting that classic anime doesn't get the respect or demand that many of the newer titles do with younger fans, the video staff at AWA has taken care to diversify the programming and make sure that fans aren't left out in the cold, so to speak. <br /><br />I'm sure this is all old news by now (being January that I am just now getting around to writing this review) but there were a few late news items worthy of mention. First was ADV toying around with digital distribution for the new <b>Kyoushoku Soukou Guyver</b> (Bio-booster Armor Guyver) 『強殖装甲ガイバー』 as well as movements towards issuing boxes with the second volumes of a series to assist in people making blind buys whether they want to spend extra on box sets without having to make the decision on the first volume. As far as title specific title information goes, there were no new classical licenses to announce; however I was able to wrangle some new information about some established ADV titles. Unfortunately the crew there could not confirm nor deny a license of the original <b>Dirty Pair</b> 『ダーテイペアー』 TV series nor have they considered making a move to release the <b>Seisenshi Dunbine</b> 『望戦士ダンバイン』 OAVs. The bright side of the picture is that <b>Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman</b> 『科学忍者隊ガッチャマン』TV DVDs are selling where ADV expected them to be. While not getting confirmation at what sort of sales volumes they have sold, good vague news is better than bad news. The only other Industry panel which I was able to make it to was FUNimation's panel. FUNimation is not a company which really licenses classics typically. Of their entire catalog, there is a small handful of titles in which would meet <u>AkibaRen</u>'s criteria of classic – the <b>Dragonball</b> 『ドラゴンボール』 Trilogy, <b>Kodomo no Omocha</b> 『こどものおもちゃ』, and <b>Crayon Shin-chan</b> 『クレヨンしんちゃん』. The good news from this panel was that FUNimation was trying to get their re-worked dub of <i>Shin-chan</i> back onto Adult Swim after break-out popularity last August.<br /><br />Finding a complaint, or to be a more positive, where the convention could improve, one has to think long and hard about this. One could complain about long elevator wait times; with our lodging on the ninth floor and all of the events on the second and ground floors, elevators become useful tools. But can we really blame the con staff for that? Not really; while the guests dictate the uses of said tools, the con staff doesn't exactly design the infrastructure of the hotels. Some areas were clogged with traffic, as to be expected, but again, can we blame the staff? I don't think we can nor should we. Are the con staff perfect? Absolutely not. There were admittedly screw-ups on behalf of the staff: primarily in regards to planning AWA's Costume Contest. However, they admitted and apologized for it. It shows the true professionalism of the con staff. <br /><br />In closing, AWA was a great weekend. The con staff was fantastic, the hotel staff were attentive and the programming was excellent. On many Internet forums I see a lot of division within the fanbase. These divisions aren't along lines of genre or series but more along the lines of the Old versus New fans. Older fans generally complain that the classics are neglected. AWA thankfully caters to New and Old fans alike in terms of video programming and panels. For the new fan looking for a bit of history to see what made their favorites what they are and the old fans looking for a bit of nostalgia, AWA provides plenty of programming that won't let you down.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-50691019002132872172007-01-21T13:47:00.000-05:002007-01-21T14:55:50.190-05:00New Year's Message: Chronicles of LazinessI want to open this posting with best wishes for a happy, albeit very belated, New Year to all of the readers of <u><b>Akihabara Renditions</u></b>. Not only am I late in writing up the New Year's post but all of the plans for moving <u>AkibaRen</u> to its own domain (first mentioned <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html">here</a>) have been tossed by the way-side for the moment. I have no excuse other than my real life duties "getting in the way" so to speak. I received an unexpected job transfer coupled with the end of the year fiscally, I was working most of the time during the day. Then, of course, there was all of the chaos associated with the holiday season, so when it came down to the wire, the couple of hours it usually takes me to write, organize, and research the average post usually lost to me instead vegging out on a sofa or trying to catch up on some much needed rest. Immediately after New Year's, I was sick and before I knew it school came back - with none of my goals during the break accomplished.<br /><br />In addition to researching the layout of the new site, I've also wanted to write up the articles I've mentioned at various points in the past. One was a comprehensive history of the <i>Mahou Shoujo</i> genre, as it was <b><i>Mahou Tsukai Sally</i></b> 『魔法使いサリー』's 40th Anniversary but the research is incredibly hard to come by, espeically for a topic which I've little personal interest in, save for seeing a few very popular titles. There's also the Con Report for <a href="http://www.awa-con.com">Anime Weekend Atlanta</a> as a part of being accepted as a part of the press team (an experience I would greatly like to repeat). It's been hanging over my head - my notes and convention program sitting on my desk and a note to remind me that I need to get extra pictures from my photographer - that I've just not been able to concentrate on whn I sit down to do it. Finally, the last article I have sitting on my mind is a keynote that I want to make an annual occurance: The State of Clasical Anime in North America. SCANA is a summary of the events of the year and a bit of predictions for the follwoing year. I've not fully developed the idea of how the layout will be or what all will be included (for archival purposes, I'd like to keep <u>AkibaRen</u> updates separate); however, the rough outline of information has been compiled - I've just not gotten around to writing the actual article. Certainly, the Con Reort and SCANA will be completed (and hopfully soon) but I am unsure of the fate of the <i>History of Mahou Shoujo</i> article.<br /><br />So, that is a review of where <u>AkibaRen</u> stands up to this point. Since there is a delay concerning the migration, I'll be focused still on building up content for the actual migration. I plan on having some of the recurring posts here, such as the <b>Tech Connect</b> postings, become their own feature on the new site. Once migrated, I also hope to maybe solicit some guest articles or editorials to add a bit of flavor to the site. Of course, all of the articles, news-commentary, and straight-up editorials will have direct links to an attached forum. The forum will also have a place for all members to start their own threads, too, of course. All in all, I have a lot of work ahead of me to get the site migrated and keep this blog active in the meantime, all on top of my other "real life" duties. I've got some major re-tooling on the schedule to do but I will be working to get the migration accomplished as soon as possible.<br /><br />As always, thanks for reading and I hope everyone will have a safe and prosperous New Year.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-86775851028739859362006-11-19T12:13:00.000-05:002006-12-31T12:20:21.896-05:00Getter Robo, Makai Tensei Co-Creator passes awayOn Thursday of this past week, Ishikawa Ken, who did the artwork on the manga <b>Getter Robo</b>『ゲッターロボ』 with the father of the Super Robot subgenre of mecha Nagai Go, <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=9808">passed away</a> [animenewsnetwork.com] after collapsing at a speech. Cause of death is reported as heart failure. He was 58.<br /> <br /><i>Getter Robo</i> is one of the pinnacle Super Robot shows of the 1970s. The first TV series began in 1974 and was followed by another TV series, <b>Getter Robo G</b>, in 1975 where the first series left off. Through the 1970s, Getter Robo appeared in many of Nagai's Cross-over storylines. A third TV series, though more unknown in the US, was <b>Getter Robo Go</b> from 1991~92. Starting in 1998, a series of Getter Robo OAVs have been produced. <br /><br />However, Getter Robo (the robot, mostly) has reached its way into American fandom via two methods. Older fans may remember the old <u>Shogun Warriors</u> comics from Marvel designed by Hasbro to sell imported toys from Japan - Getter Robo was included in the package, along with other Nagai works, such as Mazinger Z (Tranzor Z) and Gaiking. A number of other popular Super Robots from the same era were included as well, such as Raideen, Combattler V and Danguard Ace. More recently, though, Getter Robo has found its way to mecha fans via Banpresto's line of <i>Super Robot Wars</i> video games featured on every major console from Nintendo's Famicom through the XBOX360. There, Getter Robo can be sed to fight alongside both other Super and Real Robot alike and it has been featured in, as best I can tell, every single game.<br /><br /><i>Getter Robo</i>'s lasting popularity in Japan is mostly attributed to nostolgia. Adults now who watched television as kids in the 1970s probably remember the excitement of three separate robots combinging and transforming based upon tactical need, the shouting of special manuevers such as "Tomahawk Boomerang!" and "Getter Beam!" and the creepy, sci-fi, plots of monsters and aliens wishing to take over the planet and erradicate humanity. What keeps <i>Getter Robo</i> in my mind, and probably always will, is its main theme song from the orignal 1974 series and <i>Getter Robo G</i>.<br /><br />And Ishikawa helped bring it to us. Thanks should go out to him for helping create one of the essential titles that helped make anime now - in the mecha genre - what it is today by venturing off with the master. <br /><br />Our thoughts and wishes go out to his family. Here's his concise obituary from <a href="http://www.asahi.com/obituaries/update/1116/002.html">Asahi.com</a>.<br /><br />And a video of <i>Getter Robo</i>'s memorable theme song.<br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/58_oIpiwUUs"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/58_oIpiwUUs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-16268485216220297852006-11-12T13:04:00.003-05:002008-05-31T12:33:31.164-04:00Anime Journalism?<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Anime</span> is probably a unique hobby that has a large number of publications, even excluding <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">manga</span>, but very few published magazines. What am I talking about? Well, let's take a look at another hobby of mine - firearms - the NRA publishes <u>American Rifleman</u>, as well as independent publications such as <u>Soldier of Fortune</u> and <u>Guns and Ammo</u> as well as a variety of other smaller magazines. <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Marital</span> artists have publications like <u>Black Belt Magazine</u>, <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Kung</span> <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Fu</span> Illustrated</u>, and <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">FuRyu</span> - The <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Classical</span> <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Budo</span> Journal-</u>. Even video games and personal computing, all based upon the current evolution of technology, have numerous old-fashioned print magazines.<br /><br />While making a forum post, I was searching Slashdot for an article I read to back up my opinion and I ran across another article: <a href="http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/295/so_you_want_to_be_a_games_.php">So, you want to be a games journalist?</a> [<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">gamecareerguide</span>.com] and it got me started thinking about <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">anime</span> journalism. I ended up reading it because the idea of journalism has been something that has interested me since I was in my teens, although, I never pursued it until I started <u><b><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Akihabara</span> Renditions</b></u>. I don't even have much of an interest in games, but entering games journalism cannot be too much different than <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">anime</span> journalism. But this is when it dawned on me - <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">anime</span> journalists seem to be a <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">rarity</span>.<br /><br /><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Anime</span> has a <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">fanbase</span> growing towards the hundreds of thousands in the United States right now. The <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">fanbase</span> is larger and more known than I could have expected it to be since I myself declared my own <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">fandom</span> in 1996. Even though there are enough enthusiasts in the above several times over compared to the <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">anime</span> <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">fanbase</span>, print magazines are surprisingly absent. In this article, I'd like to look at various <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">anime</span> print magazines available in the US over the past twenty years as well as <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">their</span> problems or faults as well as what they've done right that seems to be absent in some contemporary publications.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/MagazineCollage.jpg" size="100" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As one can see from the photo above, print magazines haven't been completely absent from the scene of <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">fandom</span>. These four magazines date back to the late 1980s up until current (well, 2003). But aside from nation-wide print magazines, publishing in <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">anime</span> <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">fandom</span> most likely originated with self- and/or circle-published fanzines and newsletters.<br /><br /><b>What did they do right?</b><br />Well, to top it off, what they did right was made <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">anime</span> a central topic and produced a variety of articles ranging from history, news, reviews, and previews. Different publications, along with their individual writing staffs, all have their own styles. Because <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">anime</span> is still a growing <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">fandom</span> in the US, <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">anime</span> publications, especially those before the 1990s did not enjoy a long lifespan. The negative of this is that the voice of the publication really could not gain an audience. Contemporary magazines, such as <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">NewTypeUSA</span></u> and <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Animerica</span></u> (which recently went out of print) have garnered criticism for a bias in reviews. However, these magazines contained very detailed and well researched main body articles. <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Animerica</span></u> especially, but <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">NewTypeUSA</span></u> can be included as well, balanced a tightrope with these main articles to include <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">anime</span> both released and unreleased in the US. What I thought <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Animerica</span></u>'s strong suit was <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">their</span> ability to take an <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">anime</span> being released in the US, like <b><i>Captain <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Harlock</span>: Der Ring <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">des</span> <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Nebelnugen</span></i></b> <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">OAV</span> and have <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">their</span> article not only cover the <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">OAV</span>, but the <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">back story</span> of <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">Harlock's</span> character in the <b><i>Galaxy Express 999</i></b> movies, <b><i>Space Pirate Captain <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">Harlock</span></i></b> TV series, and <b><i>My Youth in Arcadia</i></b> film. With older publications like <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">Animenominous</span></u> and <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">Animag</span></u> and the lack of a large industry of Japanese animation being licensed in the US much of the content was focused on the largely popular movies and series and <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">their</span> impact on US <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">fandom</span> ranging from the seventies up until the same year the magazines were published.<br /><br /><b>What they did wrong</b><br />While financial situations were the ultimate killer of <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">these</span> previous <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">anime</span> magazines, there were several factors that led (or lead) up to poor sales. <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">NewTypeUSA</span></u> was originally marketed as publishing the Japanese magazine of the same name in English (or that's how I understood it to be) but instead opted for just the format and lay-out, which isn't a bad thing. However, being published by ADV Films, there is a perceived bias in the fan community that the magazine softballs a lot of <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">ADV's</span> releases and that the articles are awfully ADV centric. What's more, since beginning to be published in 2002, <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">NewTypeUSA</span></u> has gone through two content revisions, namely cutting article space and replacing it with ad space and removal of the free DVD from <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55">news stand</span> editions and maintaining a constant price at about $10.00. <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_56">Animerica</span></u> could be said of the same thing; it was published by Viz, but instead of <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">softballing</span> Viz title's reviews, <i>they <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_58">softballed</span> all of the reviews</i>. While its <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_59">cover price</span> wasn't as high as <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_60">NewTypeUSA</span></u>'s; there was little content outside of the main articles that simply was not worth a <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_61">cover price</span> between $6 and $7. Even less so since the magazine itself is 80 pages cover to cover. Most likely to cut down on production costs, but in a hobby where aesthetics play a large role, having an entire magazine printed in <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_62">grey scale</span> are <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_63">Animag</span></u> 's and <u><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_64">Animenominous</span></u>'s most noted flaws. Can you imagine a gaming magazine trying to pump Final Fantasy XII without color pictures?<br /><br />But over all, what I think has been most <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_65">detrimental</span> to publishing <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_66">anime</span> magazines is not only cost related - but being able to stay current. The Internet has <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_67">undoubtedly</span> changed how people relay, exchange, and gain information and <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_68">anime</span> fans are certainly included in this. News sites like <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_69">Anime</span> News Network, <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_70">Anime</span> News Service, and <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_71">Anime</span> on DVD ( as well as others, I don't mean to play favorites) are updated with the news of the day as it happens almost like watching the tickers at the bottom of the screen on CNN or Fox News. A magazine published once a month cannot keep up with that and even the <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_72">alternative</span> of publishing longer stories related to the news can be difficult. Even Internet fanzines that had a monthly publishing cycle found it hard to keep up with other websites who updated news blurbs every few hours. As far as reviews go, even titles that had multiple reviewers on them rarely had a large variance of scores, thus a bias is insinuated. Not to mention, with proliferation of <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_73">anime</span> websites on this vast information superhighway, everyone seems to be doing reviews of one thing or another.<br /><br />There is a pinch on a lot of mainstream news outlets though, thanks to the Internet. Mainstream television networks are witnessing a shift in ratings to a competitor - at best - or people tuning out - at worst. Newspaper circulations are down as people can look up information up to date and at their fingertips. In fact, new media based on the Internet, such as news sites and blogs, have pointed out corrections, errors, and even bias in mainstream media. It seems that <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_74">anime</span> journalism will move completely to the Internet within a few years. The <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_75">anime</span> fan community, who have been ahead of the curve as far as technology is concerned for a number of years now, certainly has the potential to turn a blogging community into a news community. However, go take a look at <a href="http://www.animeblogger.net/"><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_76">Anime</span> Blogger</a>'s community. I don't mean this to poke fun at them specifically; however, reading through a number of blogs listed on the site, everything gets repetitive. Not that they are recycling ideas without credit or are unoriginal, per <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_77">se</span>, but a lot of layouts and topics are nearly identical. And all of them seem to be an episode-by-episode update of a small <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_78">hand full</span> of shows airing currently in Japan. Which I think is a good start for the reader looking to find new series to check out; however there's more to journalism than episode-by-episode thoughts and updates. The one thing I will credit them with is <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_79">their</span> use of pictures - there is an over <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_80">abundance</span> of pictures on those blogs and it is an area that I know I could probably use some improvement on.<br /><br />So, does this mean that <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_81">anime</span> journalism is dead? The cost of outputting a professional, journalistic product to too prohibitive however the replacements found with cheaper technology aren't exactly equal in quality. I'm not one to call the idea of <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_82">anime</span> journalism dead yet. I think there is a bit of indecisiveness in <i>what</i> those changes need to be. There are already excellent sites on the web for general <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_83">anime</span> news but once more people find their own niche and should those individuals decide to take up the responsibility of maintaining <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_84">their</span> own site with news items. The true <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_85">tradgedy</span> for news though would be if these growth opportunities remain unused and this potential was wasted.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1161539121051192262006-10-22T12:54:00.000-04:002006-11-12T12:58:37.733-05:00Teaser MomentThe flurry activity that has surrounded me in the past few weeks since the last update is really, well, baffling. <br /><br />School and work, since they pay the bills for both my physical as well as internet activities, ultimately take a priority over anything else. And honestly, they've kept me busy if not anything else. It's not for a lack of news or lack of effort (I actually fell asleep at my home desktop the other night thinking <u>Akihabara Renditions</u> needs an update badly), but purely a lack of time. Now on a relaxing Sunday, planning the future of <u>AkibaRen</u> has gotten me in the right mood to finally post a brief update, which I hope is better than nothing at all.<br /><br />At Anime Weekend Atlanta last month, there is a decent amount of information to report on, but a much longer Con Report will have to follow. I can say right away that the first press experience I had was enjoyable and once the Con Report is complete, I will be submitting it to again apply for press status; of course, AWA would have to accept us back again, but I cannot think of anything at the moment as to why they might <b>not</b> want us back. <br /><br />In the weeks since AWA I've hit the ground running and while keeping up with the news in the anime world, the feeds have been heavily focused on the start of the Fall Programming season and the new titles coming out rather than news surrounding old classics or creations based upon older titles. TV Asahi announced a couple of new 100 Anime rankings; <a href="http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/anime100/contents/2006user/cur/">one by the general public</a> and other from <a href="http://pwws.tv-asahi.co.jp/anime100/contents/2006geinou/cur/">100 Japanese celebrities</a>, <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=7455">Anime News Network</a> has transliterated copies of both of the lists. These lists represent a healthy mix of animated film and television series from the general public (ie anime fans and non-fans alike) and are usually a good basis to look at a series's popularity, both contemporary and residual. The previous Asahi lists, the first one I believe being made in 2002, was dominated by titles from the 70s and 80s; however the more current lists from 2005 and 2006 demonstrate more of a bell-curve distribution. <br /><br />This "lack of news" though has provided me with an opportunity. After all, the maxim is that "no news is good news", right? I've been planning to move the content here at Blogspot to its own dedicated site for some time. Well, "planning" may not be the optimum word - "talking about" may actually be the best description. I have mentioned "I'm thinking about moving to our own domain" but it hasn't been until lately that I've actually devoted time to looking into the actual logistics of the plan. Before today I had been looking over what I want the layout to look like and what sort of content I plan to offer. When it comes to web-design, I'm practically a newbie, so I have requested the help of some professionals that I know personally to help me personally get on my digital feet and help with the initial designs. The content though, will all be on my shoulders to start with and I most likely be looking for the help of others once I get it all cleared. I've sought out a domain and as of writing this today, it is still open. I've negotiated some server space and have decided to toy around with PHP Nuke to get a feel for site management. <br /><br />The plan as it stands now is to toy around through November and have a upload samples ready by December of this year and hopefully launch the site in time for New Years, January 2007. Coupled with the aforementioned work and school issues, this will be demanding a lot of my time and I hope that I'll be able to get it all done in the time frame required. I'll keep updates posted here for the time being, and pending on the Add-Ons required, may even keep this as a site blog. After all, I don't really pay anything outside of time, effort, and Internet connections to run this Blogspot. Why re-invent the wheel if I don't have to, ne? <br /><br />I hope that I'll be able to maintain my current audience and with the new site increase my readership. I know I am dedicated to the ideal of having one of the best resources for classic Japanese animation on the Internet and I hope that everyone is looking forward to <u>Akihabara Renditions</u>'s expansion as much as I am.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1157230672339305152006-09-02T13:35:00.001-04:002008-05-31T12:34:27.317-04:00A Perfect Example of "Media"* Bias...No, I'm not exposing some other news outlet; I'm blowing the whistle on myself. It's not for anything I've written before, but what I am going to write in this article. I have two hopes with this article: the first is that the readers will become as excited about the subject matter as I am and the second is that perhaps some journalistic source may run across this and use as an example.<br /><br />I <3 <a href="http://www.animeigo.com">AnimEigo</a>. That's right, I *heart* them. This hasn't been a recent development. In my ten years of fandom, this is a company that has put out quality title after quality title. What's better, is that AnimEigo is much like the best friend of <u>Akihabara Renditions</u>: They revolve around the same licenses and titles that <u>AkibaRen</u> likes to look at. And their lament and business seems to be about the same as mine: most fans now-a-days are looking for the next <b><i>Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) 『鋼の錬金術師』</i></b> or <i><b>Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Meloncholoy of Suzumiya Haruhi) 『涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱』</b></i>, a lot are ignoring other classics like <i><b>Waga Seishun no Arcadia (My Youth in Arcadia) 『わが青春のアルカディア』</b></i> or <i><b>Choujikuu Yousai Macross (Superdimension Fortress Macross) 『超時空要塞マクロス』</b></i>.<br /><br />As such, AnimEigo's catalog has always remained small, more niche titles. However, that does give them the time to take quality control seriously, which unfortunately in the past year or so has fallen through the cracks on some titles from companies like Bandai Entertainment Inc. Their method of putting short translator's notes on actual discs and in-depth "Otaku Notes", as I call them, both inside the DVD cases and on their public website has yet to be mimicked, let alone surpassed. In fact, learning the nerdy information about some of my favorite series from them is probably the root of losing several perfectly good afternoons when I probably should have been doing something else. The recent boom and bust between 2002 and 2005 also has had a negative effect on them. With more and more recent titles coming out faster and faster from their competitors, not to mention in larger quantities, the fanbase who normally purchase their anime have a lot of choices with relatively minimal incomes (or minimal excess income). Age might be another factor; anime from the seventies, eighties and early nineties have their own distinct look, especially when compared to anime from the late nineties to the present. As companies and license holders in Japan up their prices of the IP (intellectual property) they are selling and are more reluctant to sell old properties, AnimEigo has been focusing on getting their old libraries updated to DVD releases, releasing the last of their "new" licenses, as well as moving onto Japanese live action films to help pay the bills. As of the middle of this year, with their last acquired title <b><i>Taihoshichauzo! (You're Under Arrest!) 『逮捕しちゃうぞ!』</i></b> , finished the last of their DVD conversions on <b><i>Urusei Yatsura (Urusei Yatsura: Those Obnoxious Aliens) 『うる星やつら』</i></b>, as well as unfortunately had some licenses expire on them and several titles go Out Of Print, AnimEigo seemed to be on its last lifeline as a North American anime distributor. Which I felt was a horrible shame...<br /><br />Until the <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=9387">17th of August</a> [Anime News Network] of this year when AnimEigo announced their first license in five years: <b><i>Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl</i></b>!<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/yawara_banner.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br />**<i>Image Courtesy of AnimEigo's Website</i>**<br /><br /><i>Yawara</i>'s popularity in Japan has been one of massive popularity when it was aired from 1989 to 1992 to a forgotten, yet nostalgic anime in years since. In July of 2002 on TV Asahi's <i>This is Japan's Best 100: Anime</i>, <i>Yawara</i> ranked a low 70 on the list, yet still, the list is missing numerous anime most non-Japanese fans would expect to appear on the list; the main character, Inokuma Yawara faired much better reaching 38 on the list of 2003's <i>Best 100: Anime Characters</i> and on 2004's <i>Top 20 Anime Songs of the 1980s</i>, the first opening "Miracle Girl" ranked 15.<br /><br /><i>Yawara</i> is, however, one of the many classics that maintains a sort of nostalgia in Japan that didn't find an audience outside of Japan until digital fansubs were able to be produced. Since the release of them began in 2002 or 2003, a very much grassroots campaign began to have the this series licensed.<br /><br />However, what separates <i>Yawara!</i> from most other anime is really superficial. If I were to say there is anything really unique about it is that it is a Romance-Sports anime that approaches each side of the genre from different gender stereotypes. To me, the Romantic side seems to be told from a very female perspective, with Inokuma wanting the ideal romance most teenage girls long for and a seeming parody off of the "Shounen romance" found in other series like <b><i>Maison Ikkoku 『めいぞん一刻』</i></b> as boys and men develop crushes on Inokuma herself. However, while Inokuma is wishing for schoolgirl romance, she is also wishing that she could be a more normal schoolgirl. Unlike her classmates, Inokuma Yawara is under constant pressure from her grandfather Inokuma Jigoro to enter the sport of Judo professionally when she enters college. Jigoro has been training his grand-daughter since she was in the first years of elementary school and with Jigoro ranking as high as he did when retired, many have high hopes for Yawara when she decides to enter the pro-arena (all with Jigoro's consent and knowledge, of course). The sport scenes where Yawara competes are, from as I can see, from a Shounen perspective, like many sports anime. They are the type of scenes full of internal monologues, edge-of-your-seat action, and huge sighs of relief at the very end of them. They are sure not to disappoint.<br /><br />While trying not to give away too many spoilers about the series, there's a bit more to this series than Yawara wishing for romantic love and sports action of women and girls throwing each other around; there is a bit of underlying family drama throughout the series it appears as well as numerous contenders for Yawara's affections who often find themselves not having those feeling reciprocated at one point or another.<br /><br />While I am anxiously awaiting the first <i>Yawara</i> box set to be released, I have been kicking back with some of AnimEigo's other releases that have recently or are soon to be Out Of Print and I am quite pleased with them, I honestly cannot say why I waited so long to get a hold of these.<br /><br />The big news earlier was that <b><i>Kimagure Orange Road 『きまぐれオレンジロード』</i></b>'s TV series was going out of print on 1 August; however, shortly after that date came (and I missed it), the OAVs and first film, also licensed by AnimEigo, were going Out Of Print as well (along with another series to be mentioned later). I happened to grab them on the last day and found excess stock of the TV series at a great deal, so I bought them all up; consequences be damned.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/kor-trio.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />Due to financial and shipping logistics, I ended up receiving the OAVs and Film first, but a few days later, my TV series box set arrived. I started watching through it and I really enjoy the series. My first experience was from a friend of mine ranting and raving about how good it was; when it crunch time came to his hobbies from lack of funds, he went back to video games (well, some other anime fans helped with that choice, too) but he still maintains how much he loves <i>KOR</i>. I watched probably a couple episodes with him, but once I heard it was going out of print, I was rushed into getting a set for myself.<br /><br /><i>KOR</i> is a lot like any typical romance series where you have a young, male protagonist that cannot decide between which girl he has affections for. What is different for Kasuga Kyousuke is that he has one girl who openly likes him, yet he feels more of an attraction to another, Ayukawa Madoka, who has an on-again-off-again attraction for him. Though, what initially sets this series apart is the addition of a magical curse in the form of telekinesis shared between Kyosuke and his sisters, which makes for a convenient reason for easy comic relief, especially when concerning the Kasuga's cat, Jingoro.<br /><br />However, the real shock I've had with my most recent AnimEigo purchases and continuing love for the company comes in the form of an early 1980s Sunrise animation - <b><i>Crusher Joe 『クラッシャジョー』</i></b>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/Joe_logo1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />AnimEigo has loaded up the original <i>Crusher Joe</i> film and the two OAVs into one excellent collection. The setting is a very generic galactic adventure type setting that most sci-fi fans will be comfortable with. In fact, the strength of <i>Crusher Joe</i> comes from that despite being written by a Japanese author (he same author of <i><b>The Dirty pair</b></i>) and being animated by one of the most notable animation companies of the 1980s, it has more of the feel of a Western sci-fi story adapted to animation that was outsourced to Japan at that time (as was a relatively common practice). I enjoyed the movie so much, I cannot wait until I have time to squeeze it into my schedule again. I am kinda kicking myself for waiting so long to check this out; I had seen clips from the movie, apparently edited and dubbed poorly, which could have ruined the perception I had of it. I'm glad that, again, unfortunately these are going out of print and I took the chance on them. <i>Crusher Joe</i> has become one of my recent favorites.<br /><br />In closing, AnimEigo has experienced a desert of news concerning their anime licensures but as business was wrapped up in the past five years since their last new license, AnimEigo has opened up with what I think will be a block-buster, classic title once some more press is put out about it. I cannot stress enough about how excited I am about the licensure of <i>Yawara</i>. I think it would be really nice if AnimEigo were able to host a panel at AWA coming up here in around three weeks that they might have a sneak preview for us of their progress so far or some more information concerning the release. Unfortunately, the news of this excellent license is also accompanied by more licenses unable to be renewed and relinquished. For these series, while one is unable to purchase them from AnimEigo directly, I highly suggest hunting down the <i>Kimagure Orange Road</i> TV series, OAV series, and first film and the <i>Crusher Joe</i> film and OAVs. I personally believe the search will be worth it, especially since I believe the chances of these titles being re-licensed in our current market are very slim, even given how surprising the market has been concerning classics from 2005 up through this year.<br /><br />*<i>From the Article Title: I put "Media" into quotes because the vast majority of blogs aren't of the same sort of media that folks like Fox, CNN, AFP, Reuters and other more legitimate news services but many in the blogosphere have taken a stance of acting as the watchdogs of the legitimate services. Most anime news outlets are good about what they report, so <u>AkibaRen</u> has not taken the same stance of watchdog against them. I also do not intend on keeping <u>AkibaRen</u> here forever; I plan on moving to its own domain and hope to continue explanding its scope from what little I can do here. What's most important is that <u>AkibaRen</u> isn't just a n opinion blog about what I think about a multitude of series; I'm hoping to make a little more sense of the business practices and models and to spread my love for classic Japanese animation.</i>Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1155341937191175652006-08-11T20:09:00.000-04:002006-12-31T12:28:55.779-05:00O Senpai! My Senpai!... to paraphrase Walt Whitman; though, Whitman's original "O Captain! My Captain!" would have also been appropriate.<br /><br />The news that is always some of the worst to report was put out on Gunota and Anime News Network yesterday afternoon. Suzuoki Hirotaka, a voice actor from Japan who has featured memorable characters such as <b><i>Mobile Suit Gundam</i></b>'s 『機動戦士ガンダム』 Bright Noah, <b><i>Ranma 1/2</i></b>'s 『らんま1/2』 Kuno Tatewaki, <b><i>Dragonball</i></b>'s 『ドラゴンボール』Tenshinhan and <b><i>Rurouni Kenshin</i></b>'s 『るろうに剣心-明治剣客浪漫譚-』 Saito Hajime, among dozens of others. Suzuoki-san passed away Sunday, August 6th from a bout with lung cancer at the age of 56.<br /><br />It's often that people say someone has passed away before their time, and in Suzuoki-san's case, it was the truth. Aside from simply passing away too early, most of his work remains in the halls of classic anime; which means few folks now getting into anime whom may not venture backwards to the classics will not be exposed to the representation of manliness that his voice imbued.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/86/Bright_Noah_%28Gundam%29.jpg/250px-Bright_Noah_%28Gundam%29.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:zeSMgpWYVaeCWM:http://www.satyrnet.it/gundam/bright02.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <br />As Bright Noah, Suzuoki-san played a reluctant-at-first captain in a series that would change the mecha genre from one of Super Robots who always won the day to a subgenre of the Real Robot - where actions have consequences and sends a strong anti-war message. Bright played an intricate role in representing that change as his character changed. He went from an obedient officer to yet another caring soldier who had a job to do. He also has the memorable role for motivating his rag-tag (and mostly civilian ) crew of the White Base to survive the One Year War together.<br /><br />Suzuoki-san reprised the role not only in the theatrical adaptations of the 1979 TV series, but also in its sequels <b><i>Mobile Suit Z(eta) Gundam</i></b> 『機動戦士Zガンダム』, <b><i>Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (Double Zeta Gundam)</i></b>『機動戦士ガンダムZZ』, <b><i>Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack</i></b>『機動戦士ガンダム逆襲のシャー』 as well as every game and spin-off in which the character was featured. Most recently, Suzuoki played Captain Bright in 2005-2006's <b><i>Mobile Suit Z Gundam: A New Translation</i></b>『機動戦士Zガンダム A NEW TRANSLATION』.<br /><br />However, Suzuoki-san wasn't just a man who voiced spaceship Captains in sci-fi wars; he was also a prominent voice behind characters of Japan's classical martial arts. During the late 1980s and early 1990s when he wasn't voicing Son Gokuu's sometimes rival, sometimes ally Tenshinhan, he was a key player in Takahashi Rumiko's madcap <i>Ranma 1/2</i>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:ZF1TYB0upfGN4M:http://dominioranma.dreamers.com/kuno/knp1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:ZF1TYB0upfGN4M:http://dominioranma.dreamers.com/kuno/knp1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />As the upperclassman Kuno Tatewaki, Suzuoki-san brought about the rich and spoiled example of manliness we all wished to aspire to. That was a joke, in case you may not have noticed. Kuno's classic dilemma, to choose between the tomboy Tendo Akane or the pig tailed girl (whom he never seemed to find out was his rival, Saotome Ranma), was nearly all the fodder for Kuno's character the plotline needed. Along with very well adapted dialogue from Takahashi's manga, Suzuoki-san's voice came through perfectly for the pompous, dim-witted rich kid that made our days at Furinkan High a little easier to endure.<br /><br />Continuing on the warrior's path, Suzuoki-san later voiced, again masterfully, one of the most memorable characters of the late 1990s - <i>Rurouni Kenshin</i>'s former Captain of the Third Shinsengumi Unit, Saito Hajime. While <i>RurouKen</i> is out of the scope of classic anime, being one of my favorite series of all time, I couldn't help but mention one of the most famous of Mibu's wolves.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rurounikenshinhouse.hpg.ig.com.br/saito.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.rurounikenshinhouse.hpg.ig.com.br/saito.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Though, an interesting piece of trivia: Suzuoki was not only in a great mecha series like the Gundam franchise but he also played characters in <b><i>Superdimension Fortress Macross</i></b> 『超時空要塞マクロス』, <b><i>Superdimension Calvary Southern Cross</i></b> 『超時空騎団サザンクロス』 and <b><i>Genesis Climber Mospeada</i></b> 『機甲創世記モスピーダ』- the three series that supported the American story of <u>Robotech</u>, as well as <b><i>Superdimension Century Orguss</i></b> 『超時空世紀オーガス』, a semi-related series from the same creative team as <i>Macross</i>. More of Suzuoki-sans roles can be examined <a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=699">here</a> [Anime News Network].<br /><br />Last, and most certainly not least, on behalf of <u>Akihabara Renditions</u>, I would like to extend my condolences for the family and fans of Suzuoki-san and best wishes for all affected by his death in the future. He is a presence in Japanese animation whose silenced voice may never be replaced.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1153611119851869232006-07-22T15:03:00.001-04:002008-05-31T12:35:00.412-04:00Tech Connect: Online Distribution a Reality?While the <a href="http://www.animenation.net/forums/showthread.php?t=194019">debate</a> and <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2006/04/tech-connect-hd-dvd-or-blu-ray.html">speculation</a> rages on over the next generation DVD format- HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. <br /><br />But, new formats aside, this <a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/19/1958238">Slashdot</a> article, a new company is offering a service where one can download and burn the material to your own DVDs. The service works like other online rental services; the customer pays a monthy fee for unlimited downloads and from there one can burn them to DVD for play later. As the service is just beginning, the company, CinemaNow, only has a number of titles around 100 and they are not exactly A-list titles. But now is the important test now is to see if the service can be profitable. If it can be profitable on this level, then most likely, irregardless of the Next-Gen Format Wars just beginning, we could see the big Hollywood firms taking advantage of this or similar distrobution services. <br /><br />So, how does this relate to the Anime companies? The actual retail costs of DVDs in the US is a point of contention among many fans. With consumers looking for the cheapest prices, often finding Internet retailers cutting MSRPs from single percentages to a full 1/3, and many US licensing companies facing minimal profit margins on individual disc sales, perhaps a method of online distrobution as provided by CinemaNow or similar service would be something to look into. Ideally, marketing to old fashioned retail stores, shipment, and packaging models would change completely and in many of their current capacities, be compltely eliminated from the cost structure as we know it. Though CinemaNow offers a monthly subscription, perhaps individual licensing companies could offer a "flat rate" per episode or cost for a batch of episodes, still dropping prices but at the same time increasing their profits on products. Should this movement gain popularity, especially in the tech communities which are frequently citing "outdated distribution models" and requests for more online distribution, this might be an important factor in continuing to pull the anime industry out of its current slump.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1153594832585884402006-07-22T13:30:00.000-04:002006-11-12T12:58:37.388-05:00Encounter in Space: Enomoto DaisukeAnime Expo back at the beginning of the month saw a number of classic licensing and as personal affairs increased since then, the scene of classic anime has been thankflly quiet, so that is actually one area that hasn't been putting added stress upon me. However, even though there are moments that <u>Akihabara Renditions</u> may feel stressful, it certainly is a labor of love.<br /><br />Since the news concerning classic anime in the US has been rather dry lately, I only have a couple of fun related articles. <br /><br />The first article today concerns a bit of what could be <a href="http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/14/0152224">described as taking the Otaku culture too far</a> [slashdot.org]. This Slashdot article concerns a Japanese Internet mogul and anime fan, Enomoto "DiceK" Daisuke. Enomoto, who made millions with the Japanese Internet company LiveDoor, will be the fourth traveller of Space Adventures, Ltd . (SAL) to be a commercial traveller into space. As reported on <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com">Anime News Network</a> and <a href="http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/mg18825252.700.html">New Scientist Space</a>, Enomoto's plan for a literal intergalactic cosplay has been approved by both SAL and the Russian Space Agency. During his 8 day visit to space, Enomoto will be able to cosplay as one of <b><i>Mobile Suit Gundam</i></b>'s leading aces, Char Aznable.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/CharAznableUC0079.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/CharAznableUC0079.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Enomoto also has planned on constructing a model kit related to the series, assumibly also related to Char, in Zero-Gravity. For safety reasons, Enomoto will be wearing the typical safety suits for exit and re-entry. He also plans on releasing videos of his visit over the Internet.<br /><br />It's this sort of thing that makes my inner-fanboy, especially the inner-Gundam fanboy, really happy but also demonstrates the oddity of the Japanese Otaku community, especially when compared with many of their Western counterparts. <u>AkibaRen</u> will certainly be keeping an eye out for videos of Enomoto portraying the Red Comet and this monumental piece of Otaku culture.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.dvdanime.net/images_critiques/episodes-10553.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.dvdanime.net/images_critiques/episodes-10553.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1151939881092567062006-07-03T10:14:00.001-04:002008-05-31T13:29:46.074-04:00Breaking out the MechaWith <a href="http://www.anime-expo.org">AnimeExpo</a> occurring at this very moment, I expected the weekend panels to yield some classic licenses and was a little worried about more classic licenses being lost or not renewed.<br /><br />The first initial reports that came out of <a href="http://www.animenewsnetowrk.com">ANN</a> all concerned newer series. This was naturally expected. The largest con in North America (and I actually think AX is still the largest outside of Japan) and to see it fly by with no Industry news would be unheard of. While checking forums, though, <a href="http://www.animeondvd.com">Anime on DVD</a> has announced one certifiable classic, in addition to two other licesences, as well as a continuation in a classic franchise. Bandai Visual (different from Bandai Entertainment, who do the Gundam franchise in the US) had been planning on releasing the two <b><i>Mobile Police Patlabor</i></b> films previously held by Manga Entertainment, which is pretty good news that within a quick amount of time two relinquished licenses were immediately picked up. Now Bandai Visual, across their IRC channel, according to Anime On DVD, has announced the license of another relinquished classic from Manga's library: <b><i>Aim for the Top Gunbuster</i></b>. This is GAINAX's classic 1988 mecha OAV,in case there is confusion with its sequel, <b><i>Aim for the Top Gunbuster 2</i></b>, which, because of the rarity of the first OAV, gets shortened just to <b><i>Gunbuster</i></b> among fansub circles. <br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/250px-Gbvhs.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br /><b><i>Gunbuster</i></b> has had a tumultuous release pattern in the US. Bandai Visual is the third license holder of the series since initially being released by US Renditions from 1990-91. In 1995, US Renditions declared bankruptcy and sold off its assets, including its IP assets/licenses. The <b><i>Gunbuster</i></b> license, as well as a few other titles previously released by US Renditions, were bought up by a newcomer to the marketplace - Manga Entertainment. Manga re-released the OAV on VHS under their name in 1996. When the next generation format of DVD was decided, Manga announced plans to move its library to the format and when mecha fans asked about it being transferred over, it was always described as "being on the list", but no definite plans could be elaborated upon. With <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2006/05/blitz-1-beauty-of-internet-and-con.html">Manga's loss of the license</a> in March of this year, the only outstanding copies that could be found in the US market - after much serious scouring and digging - were their VHS copies from 1996, which was certainly easier to find than someone disbanding a collection with an old US Renditions copy in it. All seemed lost for GAINAX and mecha fans who wanted a Region 1 copy. Region 2 copies in Japan were made for sale in 2004 and there is also a Region 2 PAL version called <b><i>Gunbuster Renewal</i></b> (which has been circulating on the net as a "fansub" as well) that people were trying to get a hold of. Bandai Visual's announcement is a welcomed one and I cannot wait to see this released on DVD.<br /><br />Bandai Visual's other announcement, again reported by Anime on DVD as being indicated over an IRC channel was Sunrise's foray into the <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2006/02/times-they-are-changin.html">ONA</a> format has licensed <b><i>Rean no Tsubasa (Wings of Rean)</i></b>. I've already discussed my desire to see <b><i>Rean</i></b> and I think that this title, if marketed right, can do well in the US. It is based in a franchise of classic mecha anime but still retains much of the flashy animation that will hopefully attract new viewers.<br /><br />So far, Bandai Visual's four licenses are all a part of the "mecha" genre, which I think is a good base to go after. Not only am I personally a fan of mecha, Mecha is one of the two unique genres founded in the Japanese animation medium (the other being Mahou Shoujo/ Magical Girl). What started out as a sci-fi sub-catagory has gone on to be its own genre with defining characteristics and whose defining characteristics are recognizable for most non-anime fans. With good releases of strong titles within this fanbase (which I am fairly sure is pretty sizable), Bandai Visual can spin some nice profits early on and hopefully not pigeonhole themselves as being referenced as "the mecha licensor"; while it may limit market potential, it's not as bad as having the reputation for being a <u>bad</u> licensor. <br /><br />Kudos again to Bandai Visual for scooping up some old licenses and showing that faith in classic anime still remains in parts of the Industry.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1151778114504960642006-07-01T12:16:00.001-04:002008-05-31T13:11:06.906-04:00ADV Seeks Out More CapitalWell, the title itself is a little misleading. <i>All</i> anime licensors and their Japanese producers are <i>always</i> looking for more capital. After all, capital funding is what gets new projects made in Japan and here in the US, capital gets us new licenses. <br /><br />However, the "traditional" model of a independent US-based companies seeking out local distribution and translation licensing is seemingly on the downturn. <br /><br />An announcement reported on <a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=9087">ANN</a> on Tuesday (2006.6.27) that ADV has formed a partnership with a Japanese company, Sojitz, with Sojitz and other members of the Japan Content Investments, an investor group, buying equity in ADV for capital funding. In return, ADV will assist Sojitz and other JCI companies in aquiring North American and European properties for export to Japan. Even though there is a buy-in from a Japanese company, ADV's CEO and Founder still remains majority shareholder and the company remains in US/North American hands. <br /><br />ADV's partnership is only the latest in a growing number of deals between US licensors and Japanese production companies outside of the normal licensing procedure. Earlier this month we saw Dentsu, with an anime investment fund purchasing equity in Generon Entertainment USA. Last year, Bandai Visual of Japan opened the doors to Bandai Visual USA, BVUSA being completely independent of Bandai Entertainment Inc, who most fans are referring to when talking about "Bandai Licesnes", especially those of the <b><i>Mobile Suit Gundam</i></b> 『機動戦士ガンダム』 franchise. VIZ Media's book line has had a long standing partnership with Japanese publisher Shogakukan when it comes to publishing their manga in the US. One even begins to think about Toei Douga in Japan; how it has made licenses expiring in the US hard to re-new so that it can hope to release them in North America themselves. While many fans may welcome the idea of a Japanese company directly releasing their own anime in the US, Toei's dismal performance with their <b><i>SLAM DUNK</i></b> DVDs (which, ironically, no one remembers) is creating a deadlock with many Toei properties. <br /><br />And to think, it wasn't until a few years ago that fans were amazed company like ADV, Urban Vision, and Geneon were financing productions in Japan and getting distribution rights before shows even aired. <br /><br />This latest evolution in the North American industry, making stronger ties with Japan, isn't something that I don't think many of us thought we would see happen. While I don't think partnerships that Viz, Geneon, and ADV are adverse partnerships, but there is, like in all business actions, a fine line to walk here. What do I mean by this? Let's look at the example of Toei Douga I mentioned earlier. <br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/Img144432340.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />They were looking at breaking into the Region 1 market and did so with their basketball title <b><i>SLAM DUNK</i></b>, which garnered a great deal of popularity in Japan. Toei, seeming to sense speed was the key to a successful release, quickly released the TV series on DVD. The DVDs released had low quality translations and were widely criticized by fans. The release flopped. What Toei hadn't noticed were trends in the Region 1 Market. Sports anime, which are few and far between here, typically do not test well. In fact, a small handful of them are fansubbed and even fewer gain praise and wide viewership. Most often, the sports anime that do well in fansubs are those that have an added appeal rather than just the sports action. Series like <b><i>Touch</i></b> 『タッチ』 and <b><i>YAWARA!</i></b>, both nostalgic classics in Japan as well, much like <b><i>SLAM DUNK</i></b>, have received some fansub praise and I personally think are fantastic series, but very much the draw for many people are the romantic/slice of life elements and not always the sports action of the two. <b><i>Touch</i></b> as a baseball anime has gained support in the fansub community but I've not seen people as anxious about <b><i>H2</i></b> (by the same author, Adachi Mitsuru, focuses more on baseball earlier in the story, too), nor do I see groups coming out of the woodwork to subtitle <b><i>Kyojin no Hoshi</i></b> 『巨人の星』, another classic baseball series that was very popular in Japan.<br /><br />With a growth of equity stakes being taken on by Japanese production companies in North American licensors, will the quality of the Region 1 market look like Toei's <b><i>SLAM DUNK</i></b> release? I'll go on record to say that I don't believe so. To say that more Japanese partnership will lead to poor and uneducated releases is liken to comparing all anime licensors in North America to 4Kids Productions. ADV, Geneon, and Viz have all been successful companies in their own right; the fans know them and they know the fans - knowing your customers is part of knowing the market. In each of their respective partnerships they hold majority share of equity. <br /><br />The news of these partnerships has also lately been coupled with license losses and predictions of bankruptcy from Manga Entertainment and Central Park Media/US Manga Corps, respectively, and the general absence of AnimEigo from the licensing race, one must wonder if these companies are looking at what their competition is doing and not contemplating what similar agreements might hold for them? AnimEigo has said that anime licenses since the 2003 Licensing Boom have went from expensive to astronomical and that it is barely pulling in enough from their anime line to break even. After all, <u>Akihabara Renditions</u> is all about the classic anime and we support the licensing of all classic anime for release in the US. While to expect <i>every</i> classic to be licensed and released is unrealistic, we do stand behind the companies that do make classic licenses. While many companies have classics in their library, I cannot think of a single company that has made classics their mainstay and market recognition the same way AnimEigo has. If AnimEigo has not looked into pairing with Japanese companies for more initial capital, I think perhaps they should.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1150144704169173142006-06-12T15:15:00.000-04:002006-11-12T12:58:36.996-05:00New Layout!I went to work on <u>Akihabara Renditions</u> this weekend, but seeing as there have been no updates concerning CPM's financial situation since the last post and the con news scenes have yielded little information about classic anime that <u>Akihabara Renditions</u> focuses on, I decided to tweak with the site layout some. I am hoping that the brighter layout will make it a little easier to read and scroll through. I also went through and added some more pictures to my previous articles <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2006/04/near-start-of-con-season.html">Near the Start of Con Season</a>, <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2006/02/mad-about-macross.html">Mad About Macross</a> and <a href="http://akibaren.blogspot.com/2005/05/argh-not-again.html">Argh, Not again...</a> (Pre-<u>AkibaRen</u>) to make the site a little less text-based and appear more like a news-magazine. I would like to get a logo image in the top frame, but it might only support text, and I've not toyed around with it yet, so it's one more thing for me to look into. At worst, if it comes to it, I might in the future actually purchase and maintain a domain for this. I have some ideas on features to include aside from my own posts, but the price, while cheap, including taking the time for maintenance, isn't really available to me at the moment. Just some more stuff to look forward to here at <u>Akihabara Renditions</u>!<br /><br />While not necessarily of the Classic Anime persuasion, a personal favorite title of mine, <b><i>Zipang</i></b> 『ジパング』, was licensed by Geneon at Otakon this past weekend. <b><i>Zipang</i></b> - pardon the naval pun here - stood out in an ocean of what remains mostly mediocre titles by having a compelling, dramatic story, a little bit of sci-fi, and settling for quality (instead of flashy) animation. I am glad to see this series get a US release and hope a lot of others here in the US will support the title. While movies like <i><b>Barefoot Gen</b></i> and <i><b>Grave of the Fireflies</b></i> give Westerners a different look at the civilian side of warfare during the Second World War, <b><i>Zipang</i></b> play an important modern illustration of the soldiers and sailors fighting in the Japanese military during that same conflict. Another look at the other side, but a very different look from films like <i><b>Gen</b></i> and <i><b>Grave</b></i> that propagate the victim culture Japan suffers(/ed) from after the war.<br /><br />Though, while classic news is few and far between, there is one notable news story. It, unfortunately, is grouped in with the loss of licenses. AnimEigo announced recently (June 9) at <a href="http://www.animeondvd.com">Anime on DVD</a> that despite numerous tries to retain the license, their license on the <b><i>Kimagure Orange Road</i></b> 『きまぐれオレンジーロード』 appears to be expiring at the end on July. AnimEigo is also having a block-buster sale on their <a href="http://www.animeigo.com">website</a> to get this title into as many people's hands as possible. If one is looking for a series that defines 1980s anime, this is one of those series that belongs on that list. Unfortunately, for a juggernaut of its time, the residual popularity of <i><b>KOR</b></i> hasn't followed in either the US or Japan. This is kind of sad because if you are around many older fans of anime and someone mentions <i><b>KOR</b></i> instantly ears perk up. It's just one of those series that even if someone's not seen the series, it's a title that starts discussion. Since these DVDs are going out of print in Region 1, I really hope some new school fans jump on this, too, for a bit of classic anime that may not be back for a long while.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/kor.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1149446603619525912006-06-04T11:30:00.001-04:002008-05-31T13:11:35.366-04:00The Biggest Non-Event of the Year ... so farHistory is full of events that are supposed to be, or cited as, being completely earth shattering - Geraldo Rivera's opening of Al Capone's Vault, or the US Stock Market Crash of 1987 - this week, the North American anime community saw its biggest non-event of the year, possibly.<br /><br />Here's a piece of news that I missed immediately from the English Language anime news wires, but thankfully, the website that originally broke the news, <a href="http://www.toonzone.com">Toon Zone</a>, has a forum moderator/reviewer that is a friend of mine. He told me about the story at a party and I went to researching it the following day. Since the only report put out by <a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=8930"> this article</a> at Anime News Network was the sum of all other information available, I decided to wait before I posted the official report of the year. However, that didn't stop folks on anime forums from doing some serious speculation, yours truly included. I tried to keep everything positive, but there were many differing viewpoints from the level-headed folks who were patient, to those over-reacting and wanting to get a hold of certain titles and horde them like mattress money.<br /><br />So, the big hubbub? Central Park Media, the owner of CPM Manga and its video line, US Manga Corps, had some layoffs/internal restructuring and issues with creditors. Since the Musicland Bankruptcy very late last year and the massive store closings early this year (Suncoast, Media Play, Sam Goody, et al were all Musicland stores) isn't a story too new to many in the US Anime Community. ADV and FUNimation, as well as others, have had to shift sales schedules around the bankruptcies, which have hurt a market nearing over-saturation. With the loss of major nationwide retails chain as well as a flooding market becoming almost as diverse as it is in Japan, none of this bodes well for anyone involved in the US industry. CPM; however, not being a licensing giant like ADV, FUNimation, and Bandai, looked to be harder hit by the Musicland Bankruptcy and signs on the Internet were beginning to point to them declaring Bankruptcy of their own.<br /><br />Because of market conditions as they are in the US, we've seen pretty much <i>all</i> companies have been scaling back licenses, and we've seen companies like AnimEigo and Tokyo Pop shifting their focus, but the Industry has been fortunate enough not to have a company completely leave since the liquidation of US Renditions in the mid-1990s. It looked like the US Anime Industry would have it's first casualty in roughly a decade.<br /><br />But all was for naught; the worrying - all over nothing. According to <a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=8951">ANN</a> and <a href="http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/8755.html">ICv2</a>, the language is vague but none of it points towards filing for any chapter of bankruptcy. In fact, most of <a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=8957"><i>any</i> thoughts of bankruptcy</a> [Anime News Network] were cleared up the following day when CPM announced that their releases will be continuing with schedule.<br /><br />So, with fans of classic wrentching their hands, worrying about a complete <b><i>Votoms</i></b> release or trying to complete something else from CPM (I know I have a couple of series from them that are unfinished, <b><i>Votoms</i></b> included), has thus far gone unfounded. While I'll keep an eye out on the issue, I think there is little to worry about at the moment.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1148163074090724002006-05-20T17:16:00.000-04:002006-11-12T12:58:36.769-05:00The Cash Cow Says "Moo"While <u>Akihabara Renditions</u> has been busy echoing and commenting on the news of classic anime of the day, another piece of news has come across the wire that seems to have fans in an uproar. As reported by <a href="http://animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=8890">Anime News Network</a> and <a href="http://animeondvd.com/">Anime on DVD</a> on May 17, ADV Films is releasing yet another <i><b>Neon Genesis Evangelion</i></b> 『新世紀エヴァンゲリオン』 TV Series set. Hot on the heels of their latest set, Platinum, the new box is to commemorate Evangelion's Tenth Anniversary and is supposed to be coming with a plethora of extras, some not even mentioned yet at this moment. <br /><br />I am not one to advocate companies produce series at a loss; asking them to do as such would mean financial ruin for those involved in the process, especially to do it in a legal manner. But here we have a title from ADV, and probably their highest selling title (though I'd be surprised if that <i>weren't</i> the case). In fact, this will be their fourth <b><i>Eva</i></b> TV series box set in four years. It seems to me that <b><i>Eva</i></b> is getting some manner of special treatment.<br /><br />I suppose this wouldn't be so bad as it might be. After all, <b><i>Eva</i></b> has just completed a run on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, which was bound to pick up a few new fans, though with the TV series being on a lot of people's "must see" lists for years now, I think there is only a small portion of people who are not exposed to anime that have either never seen it before or have not had it recommended before. And why not lure those fans into a brand-spankin' new DVD box set that has an MSRP of $249.99?<br /><br />But, in my opinion, it is as bad as I suggested. I mentioned above that this is the fourth <b><i>Eva</i></b> boxset in four years. ADV is pimping this title just as much as the fanbase is. Yet, ADV has also complained to fans in panels that older titles and classics like <i><b>Aura Battler Dunbine</b></i> 『望戦士ダンバイン』 have not sold well and that fans don't want classic anime, despite <b><i>Dunbine</i></b>'s DVDs being of very nice quality. As has been discussed in some forums over the subject, it seems to be the opinions of many fans, as well as myself, that if ADV had spent half as much of an effort on pimping <b><i>Dunbine</i></b> to consumers as they did <b><i>Eva</i></b>, they would have had a higher seller. Right now, I would wager that the majority of <b><i>Dunbine</i></b> new sales come from references of other <b><i>Dunbine</i></b> fans. ADV, to my knowledge, has only dropped the price and offered limited ultra-cheap sales for the series. One wonders how well their <b><i>Science Ninja Team Gatchaman</i></b> 『科学忍者隊ガッチャマン』 and <i><b>Dirty Pair</b></i> 『ダーテイーペアー』 TV series are doing? Much like <b><i>Dunbine</i></b> I had no idea these were even produced; <i><b>Dirty Pair</b></i> because I'd heard nothing after it was licensed and only ran across it in a store; <b><i>Gatchaman</i></b> when I'd seen it on a table at AWA last year. Yet, the new <b><i>Eva</i></b> set won't be out until late this summer (22 August is reported street date) and it's causing as much ripples as some of the fan backlash.<br /><br />C'mon ADV, <b><i>Eva</i></b> will sell itself; it doesn't need extra help from you and another box set. New fans can buy the Platinums if they really want DVDs. Please don't compare poor sales of something like <b><i>Dunbine</i></b>, which has pretty much been dead in the water since it was released from your marketing department, to something like <b><i>Eva</i></b> when you seem to be slobbering over it as much as the fanboys. Let's compare Apples to Apples.<br /><br />Or... steal a page from AnimEigo's book - <br /><br /><a href="http://www.animeigo.com/Products/OMG.t">AnimEigo</a> announced a special collector's edition of their old <i><b>Oh! My Goddess</b></i> 『ああっ!女神さまっ』OAVs on 2 May. AnimEigo is also doing a promotion until June 5th that if you send them both of the old discs, the cover art from the DVD cases, and a money order for $15.00 ($20.00 for single disc) they will send you a brand new copy of the OAV Collector's Edition. If you're a fan of <b><i>Oh! My Goddess</i></b> already, I highly suggest checking them out for a short afternoon viewing enjoyment. Not to mention, it is my personal opinion, the music is so much better than that of the new TV series and follows a more solid plotline than the movie.<br /><br />So, ADV, how about it? I think an <b><i>Eva</i></b> buy-back program would be great, unless that might ruin the prospects of continuing to release a new box-set every year.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1148152367375543592006-05-20T14:16:00.001-04:002008-05-31T12:36:18.328-04:00Blitz 2: The Beauty of the Internet and Con Season 下巻One more beauty of the internet when it comes to con season aside from reporting just the news, you can report events. In fact, with a good enough venue, one might even be able to report directly from an event at a con. Sort of our own "live on the scene" version for the blogosphere. I've also, always enjoyed AWA since I started going way back at AWA 4 in 1998. I've yet to miss a year. However, since I come from one of those "Education First" families, I've not taken the chances to explore many other conventions. In fact, for the longest time, AWA was the only vacation I took during the year. As school winds down in the next couple of years, I plan on making some more con excursions, especially to some of the others here in the Southeast.<br /><br />A good friend of mine, Matt Nicholson, does amateur photography. He's pretty good at it, despite my personal heckling of it. He does portraits and glamour shots, but he's also very handy at conventions; he's got nice equipment, he's a quick shot, and it's an excuse for a mini-vacation. He went to AWA last year as a freelance photographer from Kennesaw State University's newspaper, the Sentinel. Matt has graciously allowed me post some of his photos from AWA 11 last year that didn't make the cut this time around and we're working to qualify for press at AWA 12 this fall. <br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/AWA11/IMG_3941.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />This is me, relaxing from a hard day of Con activities; I'll be you're MC, Drew "I'm not as drunk as Dave Merrill" Sutton.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/AWA11/IMG_3525.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />The Con was held at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel and a portion of the Cobb Galleria Convention Center. What is especially good about the Ren Waverly is the lobby; while check-in may be a small issue because of smaller counters, the lobby is huge and spacious, which makes it a great place to chill, grab a drink and meet your friends. Here's another of the lobby:<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/AWA11/IMG_3526.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/AWA11/IMG_3513.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />There's an annex hallway that goes from the hotel to the Galleria, making your trek to the dealers room away from the main events relatively comfortable. The con staff is also good about making sure to keep the walkways clean and un-cluttered from people taking photos and cosplay, instead opting to have people move out to places like where this photo was taken.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/AWA11/IMG_3505.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />Capitalism in Action is my glorious name for it, but most people just call it "The Dealer's Room". To each their own, I suppose.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/AWA11/IMG_3873.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/AWA11/IMG_3872.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />The two photos above were for AWA's showing of <i>Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children</i> 『ファイナルファンタジーVIIアドベントチルドレン』, a beautifully CGI animated movie sequel to Squaresoft's (now Square/Enix) marvelous PlayStation RPG. While originally scheduled for one airing on Friday night, due to popular fan demand, two more showings on Saturday night were added for the folks who wanted to see the film but couldn't fit into the theater-sized room. I was in the room at AWA 10 for their premiere of <i>Mobile Suit Gundam F-91</i> 『機動戦士ガンダムF-91』 and that room is about the size of your standard movie house at the multiplex. To think that room was filled to, if not over, capacity for three solid shows and still had fans who didn't get a chance to see it is amazing. Also, the AWA Staff received many well deserved Kudos for adding more shows for the film the following day at their "Tell us what we did right or tell us what we did wrong" session during Closing Ceremonies on Sunday evening.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/AWA11/IMG_3259.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/AWA11/IMG_3258.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />But what is one to do when not in a viewing room watching anime or AMVs? Not in the dealers room exercising Capitalistic Might? Tired of just lounging around? GO TO A PANEL like these guys! Trust me, AWA is chock full of panels that are educational and interesting, even their industry panels (but hey, then again, I write this blog, too). While numerous con programs host panels for industry guests, advisement on model kits, talking about living and working in Japan - all things most anime fans are interested, AWA has pioneered panels of a more entertaining nature. Two of the more directly related to anime are <i>Dubs That Time Forgot</i> and <i>Totally Lame Anime</i>. These panels (<i>Dubs</i> was created by Mike "Anime Jump" Toole and <i>TLA</i> by Neil Nadelman) show some of the darker and more historical side of Japanese animation in the United States. While you may happen upon your new favorite title in the video room, <i>TLA</i> has provided more entertaining jokes for my entire circle of friends in the past year than anything else. Two other panels, <i>Panel of DOOM</i> (Created and hosted by Daryl Stuart) and <i><a href="http://www.animehell.org">Japanese Animation Hell</a></i> created and hosted by Dave Merrill. Don't let the name fool you, <i>Anime Hell</i> usually has nothing to do with anime. Both of these panels are an obscure AV geeks wet dream come true. While some anime is featured, most of it is silly, goofy, live action stuff and just gives you some good laughs with good friends and fellow con-goers.<br /><br />All in all, AWA is a great weekend mini-get-away that lets you meet your old friends, make some new ones (as I did with Moot and some of the 4Chan posse) and just, as the AWA motto goes, "For Beautiful Convention Life".<br /><br />**EDIT - 2006.6.12 - Thanks to Dave Merrill for correcting me on panel creation and hosting, per the below comments. He also informed me that he doesn't drink as much anymore.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1147556053616959492006-05-13T15:06:00.001-04:002008-05-31T13:12:28.198-04:00Blitz 1: The Beauty of the Internet and Con Season 上巻The beauty of the internet is now that there are multiple anime news services and blogs that can be updated at a moment's notice and their information disseminated to anyone with net access. Surely, this is a vast improvement over the old timey news services with their two print editions per day, but definitely over the old timey print fanzine - which was only available if you knew where to find them and there was someone making them. Certainly now, with a little Google searching and proper citation, one doesn't need to attend every con in the country to get the hot news (though, it sure is much better to not have to rely on everyone else for your news). Thank you, Internet.<br /><br />As the con season is beginning to get into full swing, I'll be looking for more Con Reports and hopefully begin to compile a "State of Classic Anime in the US" thesis. This week's batch of reporting comes from Anime Central 2006, held in Chicago from 5-7 May, 2006.<br /><br />In a report filed by <a href="http://www.animeondvd.com"> Anime on DVD </a>'s Justin Richardson <a href="http://www.animeondvd.com/conitem.php?item=249">here</a> [animeondvd.com] the biggest news for classical anime is a new DVD releases from Manga Entertainment. The first being <i><b>Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro</i></b> 『ルパン三世 カリオストロの城』 features a new 5.1 audio track, a new digital transfer, and interviews with the head animation director (I presume Otsuka Yasuo) and creator Monkey Punch! The other is a new release of <b><i>Street Fighter 2</i></b> in a new Uncut Edition. While <i><b>Cagliostro</b></i> is an improvement on a previous decent release, <i><b>SF 2</b></i> seems like an apology to a more hardcore fanbase for a previous, and in my opinion, shitty release.<br /><br />The <i><b>Street Fighter 2 Uncut</b></i> release was aimed more directly at a video game fanbase that at the time wasn't as connected to anime as it seems to be now. This, is about the only train of logic I can follow as to why <i><b>SF 2</b></i> received a release from Manga similar to that of the <b><i>Hokutou no Ken</i></b> 『北斗の拳』 TV series release (of which Manga lost the license to a couple of months ago). <i><b>SF 2</b></i>'s original uncut release had altered dialogue, such as more profanity to make it seem more adult as well as an altered musical score (featuring Western Metal music) , to name a few changes. While the new release from Manga will include the old, butchered "uncut" version, it will also include a faithfully translated and correct (in this fan's eyes) Japanese track. While most hardcore purists may not consider this a full correction (such as receiving a new dub track with all of the same faithfulness as the Japanese track), Manga is making an effort, albeit a half-assed one.<br /><br />Being an anime based off of a video game, I can't honestly say this is on my priorities list, which could be why I'm giving Manga what seems like a pass on this. I don't mean to treat this like I'm not impartial on this, I think that all companies when they produce a bad release should be scolded and when they produce a good release, they should be praised. <b><i>Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of things, how Manga is treating SF 2 now is how they've operated business as normal for anime that aren't Cagliostro or Evangelion</i></b>.<br /><br />Though, <i><b>Castle of Cagliostro</b></i>, while being one of the better Manga releases, might be getting a new facelift for the new edition. Mr. Richardson also points out that Manga is in talks right now for some new boxart that will "make you think of this movie itself instead of just another Lupin film."; though, I'm not sure this is really needed. Already, there are two separate fansbases who would show interest in the film (aside from those who've seen it already): fans of <i><b>Lupin III</b></i> and fans of Miyazaki Hayao. Though most of Miyazaki's fanbase are most intrigued by his work after forming Studio Ghibli, <i><b>Cagliostro</b></i> is arguably his best non-Ghibli work and I would say one of the top features in his entire filmography. As far as comparing to other works in the <i><b>Lupin III</b></i> franchise, easily this is the best film and really brings the characters of <i><b>Lupin III</b></i> to a broader, family audience but also retains many of the endearing traits of the characters. I would say that <i><b>Cagliostro</b></i> is a huge part of why <i><b>Lupin III</b></i> remains a large part of the Japanese anime industry and pop culture psyche.<br /><br />Manga Entertainment seems to be the most popular industry panel present at A-Cen as <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com">ANN</a>'s [animenewsnetwork.com] report by Mikhail Koulikov centers on the panel as well. In <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention.php?id=312">Koulikov's report</a> he adds some information more important to fans of classic anime - some good and some bad.<br /><br />The good news is that Manga still retains licenses for the <b><i>Neon Genesis Evangelion</i> </b>『新世紀エヴァンゲッリオン』 films, <i><b>Death and Rebirth</b></i> and <i><b>AIR (The End of Evangelion)</b></i>, and with their Tenth Anniversary coming up, if new material becomes available, they hope to plan a re-release in North America as well.<br /><br />The bad news is that Manga, for retaining some of their intellectual properties, seem to have another round of losses. On the chopping block are three of their OAV properties:<br /><br /><b><i>Angel Cop</i></b> 『エンジェルコップ』<br /><b><i>Devilman</i></b> 『デビルマン』<br /><b><i>Orguss 02</i></b> 『時空世紀オーガス02』<br /><br />So far, Manga has lost the anime licenses for <b><i>Wings of Honneamise</i></b> 『王立宇宙軍 オネアミスの翼』 (Royal Space Troop Wings of Oneamis), <b><i>Bio-Booster Armor Guyver</i></b> 『強殖装甲ガイバー』, <b><i>Aim for the Top! Gunbuster</i></b> 『トップをねらえ!ガンバスター』, <b><i>Hokutou no Ken TV</i></b> 『北斗の拳』, and the first two <b><i>Mobile Police Patlabor</i></b> movies 『機動警察パトレバー』.<br /><br />There is a part of me that is now hopeful, with the recent release of <b><i>Armored Trooper VOTOMS</i></b> 『装甲騎兵ボトムズ』 , the announcements of numerous classical mecha mecha within the first quarter of 2006, and the ever present fan popularity of the original <i><b>Macross</b></i> that both the <i><b>Orguss TV series</b></i> will be licensed soon and the OAVs will be re-licensed to accompany them. One can always hope.<br /><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ></span>Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1146340636929507402006-04-29T13:30:00.001-04:002008-05-31T13:13:46.374-04:00Tech Connect: HD-DVD or Blu-Ray?This seems to be a topic sweeping tech circles and the Hollywood industry; in the anime community, it is being discussed mostly in theory. And I think many anime companies are taking the right stance towards the new formats: they seem to be waiting for a winner in the format wars before announcing new releases on new formats or transferring their current libraries.<br /><br />A review of Tom Cruise's <i>The Last Samurai</i> is posted here on <a href="http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/lastsamurai.html">High Def DVD Digest</a>[highdefdvddigest.com]. I found the article linked through <a href="http://slashdot.org/articles/06/04/18/1219226.shtml">this Slashdot article</a>[slashdot.org]. According to <i>High Def Digest</i>'s review, there is a gap between what the capabilities of the format are and what technology is available on the market. This is good for the format because there is still room for it to grow. Hot in its heels though, Sony is planning on releasing Blu-Ray two months earlier, according to <a href="animeondvd.com">Anime on DVD</a> [animeondvd.com] according to a news post on 26 April. The new release is supposed to debut in June.<br /><br />With the popularity of DVD coming only in the late 1990s as the true successor to the market-popular VHS videocassettes, many anime companies were starting to have DVD libraries by 2000; AnimEigo, as I remember, announced around this time that their entire library from there on out would be in DVD format. And with the new format, a competition for the market right of succession, it seems they're going to sit this out until that successor is determined.<br /><br />If I can though, I would like to make a prediction about the format war. I personally think that HD-DVD will win out. Sure, it is technically inferior to Blu-Ray but it's not as if American DVDs (both Hollywood and anime) are stretching the limits of the format that warrant such a large gap in size between DVD and Blu-Ray (not to mention HD-DVD to Blu-Ray). Another feature HD-DVD has over Blu-Ray is the ability to be backwards compatible with current DVD players. So, while a new player will need to be purchased, an HD player will play both HD-DVDs and regular DVDs, thus making many collections not obsolete right off the bat, as was with DVD from VHS (until the dual unit decks were introduced). I think these two defining factors are what is going to drive the market towards HD-DVD; after all, even though Blu-Ray is the technologically superior, Sony has lost the format war to a technically inferior foe before.<br /><br />None of this is to knock on Sony or Blu-Ray; to be honest, Sony is one of my favorite electronic companies. Also, I think Blu-Ray is a much better format for data storage due to their huge size and capacity. I plan on buying a Blu-Ray burner as soon as they become more affordable.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1145763398607077622006-04-22T20:19:00.001-04:002008-05-31T13:14:56.268-04:00Near the Start of Con SeasonThe 2006 Con season is beginning soon and we've got a couple of cool developments to report.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/0079characters.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />On 7 April, Bandai of Japan reported (broadcast in English through <a href="http://aeug.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_aeug_archive.html"> Gunota</a>) that the first TV series of <i><b>Mobile Suit Gundam</b></i> will be <u>finally</u> coming to DVD. What was once previously thought impossible is now becoming possible. Now there is much speculation (and hope) in the American fan community that Bandai Entertainment Incorporated, the North American division of Bandai Japan, will be able to release a long-awaited subtitle version Stateside. Only time will tell and hopefully Bandai will have a release confirmation during the con season this year. Little Akihabara hopes to be able to break the news.<br /><br />Defying hopes, and very much pleasing to the fans here in the US, Media Blasters has announced three stellar titles this month alone - <i><b>Hyaku Juou GoLion</b></i>, <i><b>Dairugger XV</b></i>, and <i><b>Yuushaou GaoGaiGar</b></i>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/voltron-groupz.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/warrior2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br /> Media Blasters back at the end of March announced it would be releasing the original American version of Voltron (and the lesser seen Vehicle portion in addition to the classical Lions); there were some vocal fan wishes for the original versions and MB announced those in a "Oh, by the way..." fashion. While <i><b>GoLion</b></i> and <i><b>Dairugger</b></i> are in the classic genre that Little Akihabara hopes for, <i><b>GaoGaiGar</b></i>'s homage to the classic mecha genre holds hopes for many other classic mecha titles to follow suit. Either way, MB has proven with these three and its previous announcement of <i><b>Tekkaman Blade</b></i> that it is truly a company that sees value and profitability in more classic Japanese animation, as well as answering calls of an older fanbase.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/gg0497.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />Although with the blitz of classic licenses over the first quarter or so of this year, it leaves one extatic and looking to the future for what's next, but there is a cynical part of me that is worried that this is it for the year. I sincerely hope that I am proven wrong about this and that we will see many more licenses announced and hopefully some more that will actually be released towards the end of this year (as <i><b>GaoGaiGar</b></i> is planned).<br /><br />That's all for now; I am hoping to revamp the site some more, do some more exclusive imagery and get a couple of editorials written up.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1143142245348713982006-03-23T10:12:00.002-05:002006-11-12T12:58:36.263-05:00Back after a whileI know earlier in my New Year's message I mentioned that I would be doing my best to update <u>Akihabara Renditions</u> more. I've honestly not done too good of a job in the past month. As <u>Akihabara Renditions'</u> purpose is dedication to anime and manga of the "Bubble Economy" (late 1970s to mid 1990s), there has honestly been little news about this era since I updated last. That, combined with personal issues, both have put <u>AkibaRen</u> on the back-burner for a moment. I apologize for this lapse and I will be looking forward to making amends for it.<br /><br />As stated above, there has been little news regarding <u>AkibaRen</u>'s anime-base recently. I've unfortunately been un-able to procure myself copies of CPM's new <b><i>Votoms</i></b> DVDs as well and <b><i>Rean no Tsubasa/Wings of Rean</i></b>, the latest edition of Tomino Yoshiyuki's Legend of Byston Well started in 1982 with <b><i>Aura Battler Dunbine</i></b>. <i><b>Rean</b></i> also has me excited because it is pioneering the distribution of ONA - Original Net Animation - as I've talked about briefly before.<br /><br />Speaking of release over the net, and I'm surprised this wasn't making bigger waves, but since February 16th, the original <b><i>Mobile Suit Gundam</i></b> TV series has been released on Flet's Square, a broadband portal for NTT Flet's service. Subscribers are treated to one episode per week, with the next episode replacing the last. Info courtesey of <a href="http://aeug.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_aeug_archive.html#113661858137463390">AEUG's blogspot</a>[aeug.blogspot.com]. Apparently, AEUG was the only one to pick up on this. Those one must wonder, if Bandai and NTT can release the original TV series via the internet, does that mean we might be able to expect a DVD port of the series soon? Are they comfortable using an older version of the footage for a "modern" release?<br /><br />I'm personally not too much of a Ghibli fan as in I generally will not search out the newest and hottest release as soon as it comes out but I will typically enjoy Ghibli movies when I do watch them. Miyazaki, of all of the Ghibli creators, is probably one of the best of the anime medium, bar none. I'm still very late in seeing <b><i>Howl's Moving Castle</i></b>. But the next feature length film, <b><i>Gedo Senki - Tales of Earthsea -</i></b> I am exceptionally excited about. Perhaps between now and its debut, I should read the books, or some of them, to get a better idea of the setting (I did catch a little bit of the Earthsea TV drama on Sci-Fi a couple of years ago). While waiting for Earthsea though, I am also tempted to work through a Miyazaki filmography and rate his works from the beginning of Ghibli in 1984 with <b><i>Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa</b></i> up to (and most likely including) <i><b>Gedo Senki</b></i>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ghibliworld.com/news.html#2203">Ghibli World</a>[ghibliworld.com] has an interesting interview with Takahata Isao, the other Ghibli founder, concerning his films. Where as Miyazaki does fantasy like no one else, Takahata's realism in film brings a very opposite feel from his counterpart and allows Ghibli productions to find a wider audience.<br /><br />On a final and very obscure note, reported by <a href="http://games.slashdot.org/games/06/03/23/0021243.shtml">Slashdot</a> [slashdot.org] today, anime fans who are also fans of import games have something to look forward to: Sony has decided to end Region-lock out on their PS3 games and the PS3 system. Now, will the PS3 be backwards compatible between PS2 and PS1? If so, I might get back into gaming... Anyway, with the plethora of anime games out on the Japanese market, I thought this was worth mentioning.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10287426.post-1139975048776793862006-02-14T21:35:00.001-05:002008-05-31T13:15:54.225-04:00Mad about Macross<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/Blog/1463097.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><br /><br />One of the biggest news in classic anime that came about at the end of last year was ADV's new licensing of <b><i>Super Dimension Fortress Macross</i></b>. I'm not ashamed to admit it, I bought AnimEigo's release of the TV series, released for the first time in North America in its entirety without the name <i>Robotech</i> attached to it. The company went through tremendous legal struggles to bring the set here and I applaud them for that. However, if there is anything that I believe was wrong with AnimEigo's release, it had to be the lack of extras.<br /><br />ADV's release makes up for that with plenty of extras. However, they're not all the extras I normally look forward to. There were two things I was looking forward to about this release - one of the special features was the original <b><i>Macross</i></b> dub by Harmony Gold (where the animation caught Carl Macek's attention as a means to finance <b><i>Robotech</i></b>) and the new dub cast. Typically, the dub cast doesn't excite me - it's very rare I'll even check out a dub track; however this dub has one thing many other dubs do not. Lynn Minmei, one of the most notable characters not only of the time period but probably in all of anime's history, has a returning role - Iijima Mari who did a wonderful job in the original Japanese version is making her appearance in the English dub as well. What amazing possibilities for bilingual seiyuu.<br /><br />Iijima's portrayal of Minmei in English is as I expected it to be - accented but not beyond comprehension. Her English is absolutely amazing. With her being the third English voice actress for this character (an unknown girl in HG's dub and Reba West's infamous portrayal in <i><b>Robotech</i></b> counted before), I think it is safe to say that there is only one Lynn Minmei; though, this may be all to Iijima-san's chagrin. What's best about this dub is that Iijima-san is able to make Minmei sound just as young and innocent as she did in the original <i><b>Macross</b></i> back in 1982.<br /><br />So, the verdict is this: If you do not already own a <b><i>Macross</i></b> DVD set, I highly suggest buying ADV's release. It has extras, dual audio tracks, and the magnificently remastered video and audio that was present in AnimEigo's release. If you do already own an AnimEigo release, then this is a hard buy to push. Unless you're hard pressed and driven to own absolutely every <i><b>Macross</b></i> release in North America, then there are probably many other things one would choose to spend their money on. I was excited about it and planned on buying a complete set of ADV's releases, and I will be keeping an eye out for the extras on the subsequent discs, but at this point right now, I cannot see myself rushing out for another complete DVD set.Drew Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02684438846399199204noreply@blogger.com0